MALNUTRITION has continued to be the major killer of not just children under the age of five, but all age groups.

Although it affects all age groups, it is especially common among the poor and those with inadequate access to health education and to clean water and good sanitation.

More than 70 per cent of children with protein-energy malnutrition live in Asia, while 26 per cent live in Africa, with four per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean (WHO 2000).

Chronic food deficits affect about 792 million people the world-over (FAO 2000), including 20 per cent of the population in developing countries.

Worldwide, malnutrition affects one in three people and each of its major forms dwarfs most other diseases globally (WHO, 2000).

In Zambia, more than half of children aged under-five are stunted; one of the highest levels in Africa, according to United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF).

The levels of child malnutrition in Zambia had shown improvement throughout the 1990s, but since 1999, levels have deteriorated quite significantly.

A survey conducted on children in Southern Africa, attributed the increase in the levels of child malnutrition to a combination of drought and the impact of HIV/ AIDS.

The levels of stunting in Zambia are some of the highest in Africa, with 51.9 per cent of children less than five years of age stunted.

The highest levels of stunting were recorded in the provinces of Luapula, where 63 per cent of children under-five are stunted, Eastern Province, 64 per cent and Southern province, where the largest humanitarian operation was focused throughout the drought, the figure was 44 per cent.

Children in northern Zambia did not have access to adequate supplies of maize, which has more nutritional value than cassava, their staple diet, while districts in Southern Zambia had a good road network, giving them access to the maize available in the bigger markets.

Notably, the levels of malnutrition vary significantly across Zambia.

However, it appears that areas that were better off and more urbanised showed a greater degree of deterioration in child malnutrition, the report added.

This pattern may be due to the fact that these areas have become more vulnerable because of HIV/AIDS.

About 10 to 15 per cent of children in Zambia less than five years of age may have HIV/AIDS, and may be failing to thrive and grow as a result," she commented.

While stunting, which is brought about by poor nutrition, had increased, wasting caused by inadequate food supply had dropped.

Hudspeth attributed this partly to the protective effect of food aid - Zambia has shown very little change in levels of wasting (acute malnutrition) over the past 10 years.

UNICEF has been providing therapeutic rehabilitation to malnourished children in Zambia since 1992, with food assistance from the World Food Programme.

The number of severely malnourished children has, however, dropped considerably, owing to the quality of nourishment of children that needed to be addressed.

Zambia has in the recent past recorded an unprecedented number of malnutrition cases in under-five children.

The increase has particularly been observed mainly in Lusaka where children are not fed according to health recommendations and lack optimal nutrition, especially during infancy.

University Teaching Hospital (UTH) special ward for malnourished children has continued to record an overwhelming number of children who have been admitted with serious malnutrition cases.

This can be attributed to the worsening poverty levels, increased food insecurity as well as the sub-optimal infants and young child feeding practices.

Malnutrition has greatly contributed to the alarming rate of morbidity and mortality in children in Lusaka, the situation that needed to be addressed.

More than 60 per cent of mothers do not practise exclusive breastfeeding of their children up to six months due to various reasons.

About 10.9 million under-five children die every year globally and promoting it could, therefore, avert 13 per cent of all child deaths globally.

Malnutrition is preventable and if managed correctly will avoid fatal diseases from developing further but due to poor education and finances in the rural communities it is out of control and innocent lives are being lost every hour.

Everyday at UTH in a small ward with 90 children, up to eight lose their battle and as you enter the ward, you are faced with the grim reality of what is taking place, dead babies lying behind a small curtain, you will then come to a critical wing where there are children lying helpless, gasping for their last breath.

And to this end on September 1, 2013, 15 riders from Australia, South Africa and Zambia will embark on a six-day 600 kilometre riding challenge from Livingstone to Lusaka to raise funds for renovation of the malnutrition ward which Health Hope Zambia (HHZ) intend to adopted at the UTH.

HHZ was founded in September 2011 by Perth businessexecutive Brendan Clark.

It is now highly regarded by the Zambian government and well respected by the Zambian community for providing comprehensive health care and community services in rural Zambia.

The organisation is making a huge impact within the rural communities through their mobile medical clinics, school feeding programmes and outreach programmes.

Mr Clark, who said HHZ intended to raise about US$300,000 in total, said the funds raised from the ride would be used to renovate and take over management of the ward.

"This ward is home to 90 children and babies, while they get treatment and try to recover from severe malnutrition.

We believe in supporting the local community, so all of our staff are from the local communities we operate within and all the goods we purchase are from local farms and medical stores.

Currently, about three to eight children are dying daily in this ward alone but we want to change this situation," he said

The renovation includes a complete new medical equipment, more staff, an emergency ambulance and hygiene procedures.

This will save lives daily and is something HHZ was passionate about, making this an annual event.

HHZ already has its first mobile medical clinic which started in September 2011 running in the same location twice-a-week,

The organisation noticed disease rates fall within a month and decided to expand and travel to different villages on a weekly basis running the mobile medical clinics full time.

"We now run clinics from eight locations and see over 12,000 patients annually treating everything from common cold to HIV as well as emergencies.

Two of our nurses are also qualified midwives and deliver babies every week who would otherwise have to resort to home births which have higher infant and mother fatality rates," he said

In May, 2012, HHZ purchased a CD4 testing machine as some of the communities they had visited have an HIV rate as high as 25 per cent and after they were tested for HIV, they would have to travel more than 50 kilometres and wait for months for their results.

But this CD4 machine gives results within 15 minutes of patients finding out their status and patients can then immediately get the right treatment and are provided with counseling, preventative measures and nutritional information.

HHZ now has four ambulances on the ground and two more are on the way.