26 Omaheke children die of malnutrition in six months
People are poor, have no food - governor
Since the beginning of the year, 26 children have died from malnutrition in the Omaheke region.A total of 300 children in the region have, to date, been reported as malnourished, while 263 have been hospitalised. According to governor Pijoo Nganate, nine of those children even had to be readmitted to hospital.
In the same period last year, 45 children under the age of five died in the region due to malnutrition. This even though Omaheke has more than 30 soup kitchens that provide food to children in the region.
"We must eradicate poverty. People are poor; people don't have food. The readmission [to hospital] means [that while] the child has gained the necessary weight to be discharged, when they go back, it's just the same problems again," he said.
Nationwide problem
"The region is large, people are far from health facilities. Our health practitioners notice them and refer the children to a hospital and this is how they are recorded,” Nganate said.
"I believe this is a nationwide problem and not just limited to the region. I had discussions with the president and the prime minister. The Office of the Prime Minister is currently assisting and we have established more than 30 soup kitchens. However, we agreed that the food we have is not nutritious enough," he added.
According to him, they are looking at food systems in the region, including a dairy and a pig farm, to try to find nutritious food solutions. They have also reached out to South Africa for best practices to tackle the problem, he said.
"We went to South Africa to see how they handle micronutrients and it looks like a solution to us. They have a powder that they put in the children's food to add more nutrients," Nganate explained.
Declining food security
The announcement of the children’s deaths comes hot on the heels of President Nangolo Mbumba last month declaring the drought a state of emergency, in light of increasingly declining food security.
From May 2023 to February 2024, a total of 236 300 tonnes of coarse grains (wheat, maize and pearl millet) were imported into Namibia. The import covered the shortage of wheat and maize and led to a surplus of 66 800 and 48 400 tonnes respectively.
However, the country still faces a deficit of 58 000 tonnes of pearl millet, which is expected to be covered by additional commercial imports. – [email protected]