Malawi seeks to reduce infant mortality with nutrition

Esther Chimwere vividly recalls her two miscarriages. The 35-year-old mother of four lives in Phalombe District in Malawi, situated along the border with Mozambique.

Chimwere — who dropped out of school due to early marriage — admitted that she did not value the importance of attending prenatal sessions and adherence to good nutrition while she was pregnant.

In these classes, known as Under-Five clinic sessions, health officials teach pregnant women about family planning, good hygiene practices and what foods they should eat to improve their health and that of the unborn baby.

"I should have had six children had it not that I miscarried on two occasions. I did not take advice from health workers to eat a balanced diet meal," Chimwere said.

More time spent in hospital than farms

Her four children suffered from malnutrition and waterborne disease, which caused her to spend more time at a nearby health center than in farming fields.

Surveys conducted in Blantyre and Nsanje districts show that malnutrition was a major challenge even though many farming families had enough food.

Lonely Issah, 29, a mother of four from Traditional Authority Kapeni in Blantyre, told DW that her children showed signs of malnutrition due to poor knowledge of how to prepare and eat a balanced diet.

"When one of my children got sick, and taken to the hospital that is where I was told about the significance of preparing and eating a balanced diet meal, including importance of attending Under-Five clinics as a mother," Issah said.

Addressing the root causes of malnutrition

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Malawi has one the highest rates of malnutrition in Southern Africa. Nearly 36% of Malawian children have stunted growth. The root cause lies in a poor diet, driven by poverty and food insecurity and worsened by climate change.

The UN children's agency UNICEF recently warned that at least 573,000 children under five are at risk of suffering from malnutrition in Malawi. UNICEF warned that food insecurity due to the effects of climate change threatens to reverse past gains in reducing chronic malnutrition.

The German state-owned investment and development bank, KfW, funded UNICEF to implement a five-year plan to champion nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, early childhood development and farming programs.

Encouraging healthy nutrition and breastfeeding

The Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM), The Hunger Project, and the Government of Malawi are implementing the project.

"We teach women how to cook a balanced diet meal, observe good sanitation, hygiene and how to breastfeed," Jennipher Kaliati, who works with Hunger Project, told DW. She said the project also encourages families to have a garden in their backyards.

Esther Chimwere, who participates in the project, spoke highly of it.

"This is the sixth pregnancy, and with counseling, I now attend antenatal services. I also have a garden and do poultry farming. This now enables me to have a well-prepared balanced diet meal," Chimwere said.

"My children are healthy than before. I also feel much healthier."

Feeding the underprivileged

Mary Namaya, a nutrition coordinator for the Farmers Union of Malawi, based in Traditional Authority Lundu in Blantyre, told DW that they also advocate for early childhood development programs in various communities.

"We also noted that that many children are malnourished, we decided to start providing porridge to children so that they grow healthier," Namaya said.

The Malawian government has made it a priority to promote healthy and balanced diets, and even offers some families their own animals.

"Families are provided with chicken, pigs and goats. Once that family raise more chicken or goats, they pass it on to others," said Precious Kalua, a Blantyre-based extension officer in the Ministry of Agriculture. told DW that this is how the government encourages balanced diet meals.

"Cases of miscarriages, maternal deaths and stunting are now history in my area. Whoever does not adhere to good eating habits or for women who do not undergo Under-Five Clinic sessions, they are summoned," Village Head Mchacha under Traditional Authority Malemia in Nsanje District, told DW.

The devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Freddy in March this year has made the situation even more challenging, leaving almost 659,000 people internally displaced, including many children.

Nonetheless, Malawi hopes the combined efforts by the government, local authorities and NGOs will reduce infant mortality, end hunger, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.

Edited by: Chrispin Mwakideu