NANDI COUNTY ON COURSE TO ELIMINATE MALNUTRITION AS NUTRITION ACTION PLAN IS LAUNCHED
The County Government of Nandi in partnership with Nutrition International and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have launched the County Nutrition Action Plan (CNAP) to provide a framework for addressing nutritional challenges in the county.
The County Nutrition Action Plan (CNAP) 2019 – 2022 seeks to address breastfeeding, healthy feeding habits and malnutrition and is based on the Kenya National Nutrition Action Plan.
While speaking at the event, Governor Stephen Sang said the Nutrition Action Plan would go a long way in bridging the gaps in nutrition and moving the county towards the goal of a healthy population.
The Governor highlighted the importance of focusing on the first one thousand days of life and the commitment of his government under the County Nutrition Action Plan (CNAP) 2019 – 2022, to advance nutrition sensitive agricultural food systems that ensure optimal maternal and child nutrition.
The County boss lauded Nutrition International for injecting Sh. 5 million towards the elimination of malnutrition that caused maternal and infant mortality deaths among adolescent and young women in the County.
The Governor said that the County Government of Nandi has increased the number of Nutrition Staff from 18 in 2017 to 74 in 2019.
“We have a target of reducing malnutrition in our county by 50 percent in the next five years in line with the County’s priorities as outlined in the CIDP 2018-2022,” he said.
On his part, Nutrition International President, Joel Spicer said that there is no magic bullet for ending malnutrition in Nandi County noting that it requires progressive policymaking and proper implementation.
The County’s Nutrition Action plan will be used as a document for financing nutrition interventions and putting more emphasis on domestic financing which is key in sustainability of Nutrition programs.
The County Nutrition Action Plan was developed with the support from Nutrition International under the Technical Assistance for Nutrition (TAN) project, funded with UK-AID from the UK government. Other partners include (UNICEF), University of Eastern Africa Baraton and Academic Model Providing Access To Healthcare (AMPATH).
Present at the launch were Nandi Deputy Governor Dr. Yulita Cheruiyot, NI Regional Director Dr. Richard Pendame, several CECs, MCAs and Chief Officers.