Makerere plans ‘outreach for nutrition’ project

Makerere University on the outskirts of Kampala has announced that it is to launch a project of the Alliance for Improved Nutrition and Food Security for All (AINFSA) to help tackle malnutrition in six districts, the government-owned ‘New Vision’ reported on Saturday. Dr Florence Isabirye Muranga said the project was aimed at identifying the main causes of malnutrition and the most cost-effective ways of tackling nutritional status, the paper reported. “If people are not well, they cannot perform well,” said Muranga, explaining the economic costs of malnutrition. “Instead of two people, you need 10 to do the same work. They fall sick frequently and you lose a lot of man-hours.”

The ‘New Vision’ quoted Muranga as saying that 38 percent of Ugandan children were stunted as a result of malnutrition, and that Ugandans ate somewhere between 50 percent and 90 percent of daily food requirements recommended by the FAO. Under the project, Makerere-trained focus groups in villages and schools would try to influence communities towards better feeding habits, she said. “We are trying to have a mass outreach for nutrition and food security,” she added. The AINFSA project was currently being finalised for submission to donors for funding, the report added.