Pregnant women urged to eat nutritious food
Department of Fisheries nutrition officer Chisomo Dambula has urged pregnant and breastfeeding women in Phalombe to eat nutritious food.
She said this on Wednesday in Traditional Authority Mkhumba in the district during fish cooking demonstrations under Sustainable Fisheries, Aquaculture Development and Watershed Management Project.
Dambula said the department is popularising food recipes to encourage pregnant and breastfeeding women to eat fish.
She said: “Fish is highly nutritious. Besides having proteins and omega-3 fatty acids, it is an important source of zinc, calcium, iodine, potassium, vitamin D, magnesium and iron.
“These are crucial in making bodies grow into their full potential; formation of blood, strong bones and teeth, and promotes brain growth and eye health, among other benefits.”
Dambula said people should feed children more fish to fight malnutrition.
In her remarks, Phalombe District Council principal nutrition and HIV and Aids officer Lucy Ndiwo said the initiative will encourage people to consume balanced meals.
“We want people, especially children, to eat six food groups. Fish is nutritious and easily accessible,” she said.
One of the breastfeeding mothers, Tamandani Asibu, commended the department for equipping them with skills to prepare nutritious meals that include fish.
“We will stop giving children just soup. We will pound the whole fish and put it in their porridge,” she said.
With funds from the African Development Bank, the department is running the project in Karonga, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Nsanje, Likoma, Chitipa, Lilongwe, Nkhata Bay, Salima, Machinga and Mzuzu.
