By Caroline Chiimba
The El-Nino induced drought has exacerbated malnutrition among children in Zimbabwe, especially in vulnerable communities.
In Matabeleland South, Nutrition Action Zimbabwe and UNICEF Zimbabwe in partnership with Ministry of Health and Child Care conducted training of health workers from Gwanda, Bulilima and Mangwe districts on Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) under the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) project.
The project, titled ‘Increased prevention, early identification, and surveillance for wasting,’ is premised to combat child malnutrition in the three districts through effective management of acute malnutrition in the wake of El-Nino drought.
“The IMAM training will improve health outcomes for malnourished children, enhance community awareness and engagement, increased accessibility to nutrition services and strengthening health system capacity to address malnutrition in our operational districts,” said the provincial nutritionist rep during training.
“Through this training, we aim to improve health workers’ knowledge and skills in managing malnutrition, enhance early detection and treatment of malnutrition, promote optimal nutrition practices and prevention strategies while strengthening community-based nutrition initiatives.”
Health workers were trained on active nutrition screening, procedures for carrying out the Nutrition emergency response while introducing the monitoring and reporting mechanisms and tools for the emergency response.
The three days training empowered health workers to identify, diagnose and treat malnutrition while delivering nutritional counseling in the context of drought.
During the training, trainers demonstrated the anthropometric measurements that are critical in screening for malnutrition. According to trainers, health workers will be able to manage malnutrition by providing quality care, educating communities on preventative measures, monitoring and reporting cases enabling early intervention.