Oxfam has warned Malawi against complacency in scaling down malnutrition as more needs to be done to deal with the challenge.
The country’s ever growing commitment to combat malnutrition has resulted, among others, into the reduction in stunting rates from 47 percent to 37 percent from 2010 to 2016.
Interim Country Director for Oxfam in Malawi Lingalireni Mihowa sounded the warning in Lilongwe during a national dialogue on nutrition on Wednesday, at an event that coincided with this year’s Global Day of Action.
She said: “There is no room at all for complacency. Investments in nutrition are still a very small portion of overall domestic budgets in Malawi and we must continue to find solutions that can make under-nutrition a thing of the past.
“If we are to achieve real improvements in lives and livelihoods, especially those of women and children, and reduce undernutrition in Malawi, how exactly do we have to transform the way we allocate resources to nutrition in our ministries and sectors to ensure implementing our mandate as per the launched national nutrition policy?”
The dialogue, which attracted various key personnel from the relevant government departments including ministries of Agriculture, Health and the Department of Nutrition, highlighted the importance of district budget allocations on nutrition projects.
Civil Society Organisation for Nutrition Alliance (Csona) Programme manager Bessie Ndovi warned that the country’s drive to realise socio-economic growth may be doomed should stakeholders remain docile.
The Lilongwe nutrition dialogue held on the theme Prioritizing nutrition in sectoral ministries; moving from policy action was sponsored by the European Union (EU) country mission, through Oxfam, Csona, Care International and Welt hunger hilfe Malawi.
