By Kondwani Mhone:
The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) and the Government of Iceland have launched an emergency nutrition programme to provide daily meals and health support to 42,000 children in Neno and Mwanza amid soaring malnutrition rates in the two districts.
Iceland has contributed $500,000 (K868 million) to the initiative, which integrates community-based feeding, growth monitoring and early detection of wasting to help children survive and thrive.
Director for Bilateral Development Cooperation in Iceland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Palina Matthiasdóttir, said the funding reflected her country’s commitment to tackling climate-driven challenges.
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“Climate change is definitely one of the defining challenges of our times. We are working through local systems here in Mwanza and Neno to try to build resilience for future shocks in coming years,” she said.
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Speaking at the launch at Umodzi Community-based Care Centre (CBCC) in Traditional Authority Nthache, Mwanza, Matthiasdóttir praised the CBCCs’ work in supporting children.
“They have very dedicated volunteers [who are] running very good programmes, pedagogical programmes here. It is really wonderful to see how the children are thriving; they are receiving feeding so that they can grow and be healthy and strong for the future of Malawi,” she said.
On her part, Unicef Malawi Representative Penelope Campbell described the launch of the partnership as a milestone.
Campbell said the collaboration was about delivering results and ensuring every child in Mwanza and Neno not only survives but thrives.
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Director of Nutrition in the Ministry of Health, Nedson Fosiko, said the nutrition situation in the two districts and several other parts of the country remained serious despite some progress.
“Nationally, the stunting rate is around 38 percent and Mwanza is close to this, while some districts are as high as 48 percent.
“Wasting is also above the global threshold of 2 percent and many children are admitted to health facilities with severe malnutrition,” Fosiko said.
He welcomed the initiative, describing it as a demonstration of collaboration across sectors and pledged the Ministry of Health’s commitment to promoting the health of all Malawians and improving health outcomes.
The programme integrates screening and referral into CBCCs to reach children who might otherwise miss essential services.
Community health workers and volunteers will also be trained to identify, refer and follow up malnutrition cases while districts receive support to maintain essential nutrition services during droughts, floods and other climate-related emergencies.
