Nutrition
Preventing and treating malnutrition in Kenya
Challenges
In Kenya, 26 per cent of children under five years are stunted and 4 per cent suffer from wasting. However, significant disparities exist across counties.
Malnutrition is known to cause nearly half of all deaths of children under five years globally, while chronic malnutrition leads to stunting – an irreversible condition with devastating effects, including diminished brain and physical development and reduced productivity.
Kenya has made significant progress in reducing stunting, wasting and underweight children, as well as an increase in breastfeeding rates. However, food insecurity is still a major challenge especially for communities affected by recurring drought and poverty.
Solutions
The 2018 – 2022 UNICEF Kenya Country Programme aligns with the Government’s Big Four Agenda to enhance food and nutrition security for Kenyans.
UNICEF integrates and scales up nutrition specific and sensitive strategies and services in communities to improve maternal, infant, and young child feeding behaviours and practices. Our main focus is on the crucial first 1,000 days of a child’s life that lay the foundation for healthy growth and development.
UNICEF in Action, 2014 - 2018
UNICEF’s updated Vitamin A Supplementation Policy led to over 3 million children, aged 6-59 months, to receive Vitamin A.
Over 450,300 vulnerable children were screened for acute malnutrition through outreach services during the 2017 drought emergency.
Over 1.7 million mothers with newborns were counselled on Exclusive Breastfeeding through the Community Health System.
UNICEF provided Iron Folic Acid to over 2.5 million women of reproductive age.
Resources
Looking Back, Moving Forward: Impact Report, 2014 - 2018
Situation Analysis of Children and Women in Kenya, 2017
2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey