When Elevanie Mukamazimpaka , a mother from Nyarusange village, Nyamagana cell , in Ruhango sector of Ruhago district, gave birth to two twins, she was joyful like other mothers. But one child suffered from malnutrition until the Stunting Prevention and Reduction Project (SPRP) intervened. The project, from 2018 to 2023, is being implemented by Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) in collaboration with the National Child Development Agency and local authorities. “I gave birth to twins but one baby was later affected by malnutrition. At six months old the baby was weighing three Kilogrammes and 700 grams which was bad. That is why the project took me to the health centre for correction,” she said. Mukamazimpaka is one of many mothers in Ruhango district, whose behaviors on fighting stunting and malnutrition among children under two years old have changed as they have also been trained on establishing vegetable gardens to get sustainable solutions to malnutrition for children under two years old. Her child, in 2021, was taken to Kigoma Health Centre and provided with milk, nutritious porridge of flour such as Shisha Kibondo, Ongera micronutrient powder, vegetables among others. Mukamazimpaka and others parents used the support given by SPRP in a period of three months as they testified to The New Times during the visit last week. “My child was in the yellow zone as an indicator of being at risk of malnutrition. Thanks to the project intervention, my child is currently in good health. The vegetable garden is also helping us to afford a balanced diet. I grow amaranth, beetroots, carrots, and other vegetables in the garden which has helped our family to prevent malnutrition and stunting,” she said. She said that the money she used to spend on buying vegetables on the market is being used to afford other family basic needs. Felicien Gasagure, a community health worker in Nyarusange village said that he was trained by the project on preventing , reducing malnutrition and stunting. “Thanks to the training, we manage to monitor mothers in their homes, so as to advise and teach them on how to prevent malnutrition and stunting. We also help to screen children in order to detect children with malnutrition issues. The families have all managed to establish vegetable gardens and embraced hygiene practices which have drastically reduced malnutrition,” he said. He said that the children are getting at least three meals and above per day following the gained knowledge and established vegetable gardens. “In our village, there is no single malnutrition case currently and everyone has a vegetable garden,” Gasagure said. Rose Mukamusangwa, another community health worker in charge of monitoring issues affecting children in the village said that knowledge about balanced diet and fighting poverty in families are key in preventing and reducing malnutrition as well as stunting among children under two years. “There are those who face malnutrition and stunting because parents have no knowledge on how to prevent and reduce malnutrition and stunting. These ones need to be trained. Those in poverty need support like small livestock,” she said. Alphonsine Mukangenzi, the Vice mayor in charge of social affairs development in Ruhango district said that when the SPRP project was launched in 2018, there were 414 malnourished children across the district. “Thanks to the project interventions, we took the children to health centres. There remain only eight children in the yellow color/zone as an indicator of malnutrition. If the children in the yellow zone are well followed up, they recover within 12 days. But because these eight children were born with other diseases, it is taking time to recover,” she said. She said the project provided the malnourished children with nutritious food who were followed up while living at the health centres. “The parents were trained on fighting malnutrition and stunting. They were trained on a balanced diet and the role of vegetable gardens. Every family now has a vegetable garden because some face malnutrition and stunting due to indifference and lack of knowledge. Our district is fertile and has good agricultural output and therefore we trained parents on using available food to fight malnutrition and stunting among children,” she said. She urged mothers to always take away nutritious food for children while on trip. “Wherever the mothers go, they should take away food and porridge for children to ensure they get nutritious meals at recommended times of the day,” she said. Mukangenzi noted that every stakeholder in the district has been tasked to monitor and help fight malnutrition and stunting in identified different families. “Those in poverty were given support of small livestock and others were employed in VUP works to get many to afford food,” she said. Operation to address human security issues The vice mayor told The New Times that in 2018 the district launched an operation dubbed “ Ruhango ucyeye” to address human security issues in families that were identified. One of the issues that had to be urgently addressed was malnutrition and stunting among children under two years. “The operation was looking for families without kitchens, gardens, those without toilets, those who shelter domestic animals inside their rooms where they sleep among other human security issues,” she said. Mukangenzi said that the SPRP project has played a role in educating people on causes of malnutrition and stunting as well as the ways of prevention and reduction. “In 2015, stunting in our district was at 41 percent. This has decreased to 38.5 percent as of 2020. We hope that with project interventions and behavior change, it will decrease further,” she said. A health worker shows the mango trees which will help in fighting malnutrition in Ruhango district. Alphonsine Mukangenzi Vice mayor in charge of social affairs in Ruhango district. Elevanie Mukamazimpaka renovating her kitchen garden in Nyamagana cell, Ruhango sector. Felicien Gasagure Community Health Worker in Nyarusange village, Nyamagana cell, Ruhango sector in Ruhango district.
