Seven Seas, a leading science and technology company in healthcare, unveiled an awareness campaign to actively fight malnutrition in Kenya. The campaign seeks to break the downward cycle of malnourished, weaker generations by engaging the population in practicing healthy lifestyles and nutrition habits through influential opinion makers, national media and direct engagements with consumers and not to see malnutrition as a poverty effect but also as a problem that we don’t follow good nutrients taking
Malnutrition is a significant issue for Kenya today. Every year, nearly 100,000 children die before their fifth birthday, and 50% of these deaths are linked to malnutrition. Today 2.8 million children in Kenya under the age of five are stunted and 1 billion suffer from hunger malnutrition. The problem of malnutrition and stunting is not often a result of lack of food, but not eating the right food. In addition, the report over the year shows that North Eastern region has the largest number of children facing the predicament of malnutrition.
Speaking at the launch, Gladys Mugambi, Head of Nutrition, Ministry of Health and Sanitation said the government is working on programs that will increase the awareness level of the importance of good nutrition for children. “We are working with institutions both in government and the private sector to ensure that people are made aware of the importance of a balanced diet for children to reduce cases of stunted growth and ailments associated with malnutrition,” she noted.
This campaign follows Merck Consumer Health’s previous support of initiatives that enable access to health care in Kenya, for example, the partnership with Beyond Zero, the national initiative by Kenya’s First Lady H.E Margaret Kenyatta to increase access to healthcare services.