It is estimated that half of the
households in Uganda are food insecure and consume foods that most cases lack
nutrients a factor attributed to reduced life expectancy. G20 countries in
partnership with the government of Uganda have embarked on funding multi-sectral
food security projects in the country aimed at reducing the increasing
malnutrition and poor health especially in children under 5 years in order to
curb malnutrition & stunted growth that are caused by lack of nutrients in
the body resulting from food consumption both quality and quantity.
Speaking live in the studios of
HITS Fm on ToroDev’s supported ‘Orukurato’ program that is aired every Saturday
8:00pm-10:00pm on 24th June, 2017, the Kabarole assistant project coordinator Mr. Katisa Paul said
government is implementing the nutrition project through schools. In Kabarole
district alone demonstration farms in one hundred (100) UPE schools managed by
teachers, pupils, PTA, SMC’s members have been set up for both teachers, pupils
and parents to acquire skills in nutritional farming.
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| School children doing gardening as part of their practical skills subject |
Paul further said that when pupils and their
parents acquire skills, most likely they will copy what is practiced at school
to their homes and in the long run our children in homes will start feeding on
nutritious foods which will help them grow strong and become productive people
in future.
‘’The project is further aimed at encouraging diet diversity and
promotion of appropriate feeding of young children on foods with high nutrients
using our ancestral foods, reduce malnutrition, stunted growth, support
the issue of lunch in UPE schools. The funds allocated to these schools to
implement the project is managed and accounted for by PTA & SMC’s members
as they do their management roles in these selected schools’’, said Paul
Katisa the G20 assistant project coordinator, Kabarole district. We have faced
a challenge of changes in climatic conditions in different parts of the
district where the project is being implemented but hope to have stable and
favorable climate conditions for best yields and project success.
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| A demonstration of a school garden in one of the schools |
During the 2 hours live discussion, callers participated
through call-inns; ‘’we are happy for government to think about nutrition/diet and involving children in schools because they
can sustain what they are practicing now’’, said James Tumusiime a caller from
Ntoroko district, ‘’Malnutrition and stunted growth are serious issues for ones
growth in body and mind, we hope such and other related illnesses will soon be history in our
communities’’, said Happy Kirwana a caller from Bugaki sub county in Kyenjojo
district, ”Our traditional foods used to
be like Herbal medicine which would help to fight diseases in our bodies, the
campaign on diet will help us increase the life expectancy due to feeding on
nutrients’’, said Margret Kobusinge a
caller from Rwimi in Kabarole district.
We take a great opportunity to thank SIDA, NED, SPIDER, ICT4DEM, and CIPESA for the financial and
technical support to run these programs.
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