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Zambia: Parliamentarians Champion Nutrition
Zambia’s Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition Alliance (CSO-SUN Alliance) held a Nutrition Champions meeting with Members of Parliament on 1 May to increase political commitment to address malnutrition.
May 7, 2013 - Last update: November 6, 2023
Zambia’s Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition Alliance (CSO-SUN Alliance) held a Nutrition Champions meeting with Members of Parliament on 1 May to increase political commitment to address malnutrition.
Excerpt from the article published by The Daily Nation:
[THE DAILY NATION] – 2 May 2013 – About 54 percent of under-5 deaths in Zambia are caused by malnutrition and nutrition related complications, says Bweengwe Member of Parliament Highvie Hamududu. Mr. Hamududu said it was unfortunate that so many children have to die when all was required was an increase in awareness and activities that support nutrition among the most vulnerable grouping in society.
Speaking during the ‘MPs Champions of Nutrition’ meeting held yesterday Mr Hamududu said that there was little information on the effects of malnutrition on the general population despite its adverse effects on national development. “As law makers, we lack statistics of nutrition related matters such as illnesses and deaths. Zambia remains one of the most affected countries in the world, it’s unacceptable to have 46% under 5 children malnourished, this state of affairs needs to be addressed with urgency or else we risk having a malnourished population,” Mr. Hamududu said. He explained that enhanced nutrition programmes could be achieved with increased political will from those in government especially the president who could use his influence on national matters.
The meeting was organized by the Civil Society Organisations Scaling Up Nutrition (CSO-SUN) Alliance with particular emphasis on the malnutrition levels and their effects in the country. Some of the MPs present in the meeting included Lukulu East MMD MP Dr Christopher Kalila, Kasenengwa MP Victoria Kalima, Lubansenshi’s Patrick Mucheleka and Mulumemui Imenda of Luena Constituency in Western Province, who are members of the Parliamentary Committee on Nutrition. Others were Chama North MP January Zimba and MMD Chipata Central MP, Mutolo Phiri also attended the meeting which featured representation from Care International Zambia and the Irish Aid in Zambia.
The meeting was meant to share information on the state of the nutrition in Zambia and the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) initiative aimed at accelerating nutrition development on the long-standing poor state of nutrition among the children.
