Experts push for greater animal protein intake to combat stunting

Animal-sourced protein consumption in Rwanda remains critically low, a challenge nutrition experts say must be addressed to help curb stunting. Assumpta Ingabire, Director General of the National Child Development Agency (NCDA), said only about 8 per cent of children aged 6–23 months consume eggs, citing the 2020 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) while speaking at a meeting on food systems transformation in Kigali on December 2. ALSO: MTN Rwanda, UNICEF join forces to boost child nutrition in Gicumbi The meeting, organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources in partnership with UNICEF, focused on accelerating food systems transformation to reduce malnutrition and strengthen maternal and child health. Low intake of animal-sourced foods, Ingabire said, continues to undermine Rwanda’s efforts to combat stunting and malnutrition. Foods such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy provide high-quality protein, essential amino acids, and micronutrients that are difficult to obtain from plant-based diets alone. ALSO READ: How Govt plans to reduce stunting from 33% to 15% These nutrients support child growth and brain development, maternal health, and muscle maintenance in adults and older people. Rwanda aims to reduce stunting from 33 per cent to 15 per cent by 2029 under the Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation (PSTA 5). Increasing access to animal-sourced foods With more than 1.7 million children in the complementary feeding age group, Ingabire noted that effectively implementing a “one egg per child per day” campaign would require significantly higher production. She urged more private-sector investment in poultry farming at the district level. “If we apply this one-egg-per-child-per-day approach, I think we can’t get enough on the market. So, we have to really expand production,” she said. ALSO READ: Animal source foods can help tackle malnutrition in Africa: experts Speaking to The New Times, Florence Batoni, Managing Director of Bugesera-based Platinum Agribusiness Ltd, linked low consumption of animal-sourced foods to persistent stunting. She said most Rwandans still do not eat eggs regularly, resulting in an estimated 60–70 per cent of Rwanda’s eggs being exported to the Democratic Republic of Congo, while only 30–40 per cent are consumed locally—mainly by restaurants, bakeries, and hotels. Her farm has about 40,000 layers producing roughly 24,000 eggs per day. But egg prices fluctuate sharply due to reliance on the Congolese market. During rainy seasons, when roads to DR Congo become impassable, prices drop sharply—from about Rwf4,500 per tray in summer to around Rwf3,700 currently—causing losses while feed costs remain high. Batoni emphasised that eggs are affordable, nutrient-dense, and easy for young children to digest, playing a key role in preventing stunting and anemia. Encouraging families to prioritise egg consumption, she said, would help build demand and attract investment into poultry, animal feed production—including growing maize and soybeans—piggery, and dairy. “Once demand grows, production will rise to match it,” she said. She added that low-income families could be supported to rear a few chickens at home, enabling direct access to eggs without relying on the market. Ingabire noted that Rwanda must increase production and accessibility of nutrient-dense foods, strengthen biofortification efforts, and encourage private investment in agro-processing. She said investors need incentives to expand poultry and livestock production, and local leaders must help attract and support these projects. High-protein foods as a game changer Lieke van de Wiel, UNICEF Country Representative, said ensuring access to high-density protein foods for adolescent girls, pregnant women, and young children would be transformative. She backed the one-egg-per-day campaign, describing it as symbolic of the broader need for affordable animal protein including eggs, fish, fish powder, and milk. Young children, she said, have small stomachs and require nutrient-dense foods consistently after the first six months of exclusive breastfeeding to reach their full growth and learning potential. “If you, for example, have egg or fish or fish powder, milk, that will help the child under two to really grow well,” she said. To ensure affordability, she stressed the importance of local production and helping caregivers understand that young children need meals tailored to their nutritional needs—starting with protein before vegetables, minerals, and starches. Government pledges to boost livestock production Telesphore Ndabamenye, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, said Rwanda is scaling up livestock programmes to increase the supply of meat, milk, and eggs so that nutritious foods become more accessible and affordable. He emphasised that improving feeding practices for young children must go hand in hand with increased production. “When we give our children the best start in life, we give our nation its strongest foundation,” he said. Rwanda’s annual egg production stood at 20,211 tonnes in 2023/24, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources.

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Experts push for greater animal protein intake to combat stunting