CSONA laments drop in budgetary allocation to nutrition sector
The Civil Society Organization Nutrition Alliance (CSONA) has lamented the reduction in the budgetary allocation towards nutrition for the 2021/22 financial year.
CSONA National Coordinator Bessie Ndovie disclosed that this year’s budget analysis has gone down from 3.7 percent last year to 2.9 percent, representing a 28 percent drop in the budget allocation towards the sector.
Ndovie made the remarks on Thursday evening during a dinner the alliance organized for members of the Parliamentary Committee on Nutrition and HIV and Aids.
She warned that the reduction in funding has serious implications on people’s health.
Ndovie emphasized that while it is advisable for people to eat nutritious food to keep their bodies strong so that they are able to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, the reduction in the budget allocation therefore is a minus in achieving this.
“The National Multi-Sector Nutrition Policy recognizes that nutrition is essential for social and economic growth of the country hence the need to honour it by putting in more resources,” she said.
And in order to fully utilize the few available resources available, Ndovie called upon various government departments, agencies and institutions to stick to what has been allocated for nutrition because nutrition is a key development issue as it has been recognized in the policy documents such as the MGDS111 and the MW2063.
Meanwhile, CSONA has appealed to the members of Parliament (MPS) to be advocates of nutrition so that they should be able to lobby for more support towards the sector.
Chairperson for the Parliamentary Committee on Nutrition and HIV and Aids, Deus Gumba Banda, assured that the committee will continue to lobby for more support towards the sector.
Yeah, nutrition ikufunika kuionjezera funding, taonani a Coordinator a CSONA akufunika zakudya zamagulu, zomwe zikuoneka zikusowa mwaiwowa.
You nutritionists have squandered alot of money. You had a project iyi mumazala mitengo ya zipatso mu mmidzi koma 80 % tinafa and we are back to square 1. Why do you need money again??? Sit back and think. Component yozala mitengo should have been left in the hands of anthu oziziwa komaso. Dyela basi.