19 July 2016 - The World Health Organization (WHO) donated motorcycles and laptop computers to six districts   to improve maternal, child health and nutrition. The districts are Iganga, Luuka, Namutumba in Eastern Uganda and Hoima, Masindi and Kibaale in Western Uganda.

The six districts are part of the Accelerating of Nutrition Improvements in Sub-Saharan Africa (ANI) a WHO/Government of Uganda supported nutrition project that has been implemented since 2013.  The project aims at scaling up nutrition services and strengthening nutrition surveillance using routine health data.

Handing over the equipment to the respective District Health Officers (DHO's) and Chief Administrative Officers (CAO's), Dr. Florence Turyashemererwa from the WHO Country Office, said that the equipment is meant to support the repositioning of nutrition in health facilities and communities for quality health care. She appreciated the efforts the various districts had invested in ensuring that mothers and children receive the routine nutrition support at the most important critical stages of child development, that is, the first 1000 days.

Dr. Turyashemererwa referred to Uganda’s commitment to reduce malnutrition among mothers and children noting that country had a challenge of reducing the prevalence of stunting to 15% by the year 2025. She explained that stunting is a key factor among the causes of poverty emphasizing that “a child who is severely stunted is sentenced to a life of underachievement including diminished performance in class; lower productivity and earnings in the workplace; more health problems throughout life; and an elevated risk to chronic illnesses.”

The Chief Administrative Officer for Iganga district who was also the Guest of Honour at the meeting, Ms. Mary Birede, thanked WHO and Communication for Development Foundation Uganda (CDFU) for funding and implementing the ANI project in the pilot districts. The six districts have received support through the ANI project in major nutrition areas such as infant and young child feeding, including the development of region specific complementary feeding recipes, strengthening the health facility based care for children with severe acute malnutrition and provision of equipment for nutrition assessment and strengthening of nutrition surveillance through the District Health Management Information System (DHIS). Nutrition surveillance has enabled the district to access timely data for action and decision making at all levels of health services delivery.

The Resident District Commissioner (RDC) for Iganga Hajji Walugembe Ramathan emphasized the need to ensure that mothers feed well especially during pregnancy. He also encouraged the men to share the responsibility of child nutrition, to enable proper growth of children. The RDC called for intersectoral collaboration for food security and nutrition and promised supervision to ensure proper and efficient use of the donated equipment.

Note:

Accelerating Nutrition Improvements (ANI), implemented by the World Health Organization (WHO), is financed by a grant from Global Affairs Canada. ANI supports 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa to improve nutrition surveillance through strengthened health information systems. In Uganda ANI also supports scaling up nutrition interventions. Under the technical guidance of the WHO country office in Uganda, the ANI is implemented within the existing Ministry of Health structure to avoid duplication and ensure sustainability.