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By Julius Mugaga/ KMA Updates.
Kampala, Uganda: Action Against Hunger organization has advised Uganda’s government to directly improve people’s nutrition levels if it is to benefit from the proposed FY 2022/2023.
Mariam Akiror, Advocacy and Communications Coordinator at Action Against Hunger/Courtesy Photo
Appearing in the Joint Civil Society Organizations’ engagement giving their observations of the FY 2022/2023 National Budget Framework Paper, Mariam Akiror, the Advocacy and Communications Coordinator at Action Against Hunger quoted that “for any nation to secure a future, needs a well-nourished population because it is productive. Malnourished and stunted population puts a burden on the heath sector and affects the health budget”.
Therefore it is viable for Uganda’s government to prioritize the nutrition of her citizens.
Since the total resource envelope for FY 2022/2023 is projected to decrease by UGX 1,695.60 billion that means from UGX 44,778.80 billion in FY 2021/2022 to UGX 43,083.20 billion, all issues related to health must be on the fore front.
She further asked the government to strengthen the healthcare system by equipping it with required equipment and resources to enable it function effectively and efficiently.
She added, government should ensure functionality of District Nutrition Coordination Committees which will monitor the population right from the grassroots.
Government should also ensure mainstreaming water hygiene with nutrition that is to say, the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program should be enforced in addition to extension services and Village Health Teams (VHTs).
In 2020, Action Against Hunger Uganda’s nutrition program reached 81,958 children and pregnant women in five refugee settlements, providing supplementary feeding for 59,750 young children and new mothers to prevent malnutrition, and treating 13,768 acutely malnourished children, pregnant women, and mothers.
These services were provided through health facilities and care groups established in the settlements. They were complemented by education on a variety of topics, including hygiene, sanitation, food preparation, home gardening, healthy diet, health-service referral pathways, and gender-based violence.
Therefore the above pose a need for Uganda’s government to harness ways of improving nutrition standards of its citizens.