Ministry of Health in partnership with stakeholders has launched a five-year nutrition project aimed at improve the nutritional status of 200,000 women, children and adolescent girls.
The project is dubbed “Increase Gains in Nutrition by Integration, Education, Evaluation and Empowerment (IGNIT3)” and it will run from 2023 to 2028, with funding from the Canadian government through the Global Affairs Canada to the tune of $5 million.
Secretary for Health, Benson Chisamile says the nutritional project is timely as it will improve nutritional status of the vulnerable
Speaking during the launch of the project on Friday in Lilongwe, Secretary for Administration in the Ministry of Health Bestone Chisamile said the project is a timely response as the country continues with the fight against malnutrition.
“The government, through the project, plans to address the challenges in nutrition by implementing targeted and integrated nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene programs with the goal of building sustainable institutional capacity and improve nutrition within vulnerable communities,” he said.
Project Coordinator for IGNIT3 Malawi, Janet Guta says communities in hard to reach areas will benefit from the project.
Chisamile said: “We all know that when one nutritional status improves, the health status follows adding that it is a healthy population that can meaningfully participate in national development.”
He further said the project will be helpful in achieving the agenda 2063 vision as the country has made great strides in the fight against malnutrition.
Chisamile disclosed that Malawi has registered significant in the prevention, treatment, care, and support of nutrition.
According to him, the current data shows that the country has managed to reduce the percentage of children under five years of age who are stunted from 47 to 37 per cent while the wasted four to two per cent thereby meeting the Global Nutrition target on wasting.
Project Coordinator for Nutritional International Malawi, Janet Guta said the project has come to address the gaps in nutrition in hard to reach areas.
Some of the stakeholders in the IGINT3 project
“We will find out those in hard to reach especially the marginalized children, women and adolescent girls by not looking only the distance but those who are not able to get the nutritional services,” she said.
Guta added that the project will help address the gaps in the provision of essential nutrition interventions in the hard to reach as well develop a strategy and capacity building of service providers.
Some of the stakeholders in the project include WaterAid, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), SickKids Centre for Global Child Health and Nutrition International.
