Paul Kiwuuwa
17 July 2008
Kampala — Over five million children in Uganda are stunted due to underfeeding, according to a study by a charity. A report by the Uganda Child Rights NGO Network said serious cases of stunted children were evident in Acholi and Karamoja regions and the districts of Kabale and Kisoro.
"One-third of Uganda's children are stunted with 10% of them below five years. In Acholi and Karamoja, the affected children are at 15% and 22% respectively."
The network's national programme coordinator, Stella Ayo Odongo, last week presented the report to Parliamentary Forum for Children during a seminar at the Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala.
According to the 2006 Uganda National Household Survey, children make 51% of the country's population estimated at 30 million.
Ayo said parents were not feeding children on a balanced diet, adding that many were ignorant of nutritious foods.
The forum chairperson, Ruth Tuma (NRM), was surprised that Kabale and Kisoro had stunted children, despite being major food growing areas.
But Odongo explained that most parents sold the nutritious foods to Kampala traders, leaving their children underfed and relying on handouts.
"The parents' ignorance and the hunt for money is the root cause of malnutrition in Kisoro."
She observed that Kabale and Kisoro produced cabbages, Irish potatoes, fruits and vegetables but most of the produce ended up in Kampala markets.
The 20-year long insurgency in the north that confined parents to internally displaced peoples' camps had affected food growing in Acholi region, leading to underfeeding and malnutrition, Odongo added.
Barnabas Tinkasiimire (NRM) said during a recent visit to Kabale, he was alarmed to find that children below one were being fed on bushera (fermented millet) and muramba, a local gin. meant for the adults.
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