By Felista Wiston
Introduction:
Most of the people especially women and children in the southern regions of Tanzania are suffering from malnutrition which mostly affects women at reproductive age and underage children which is triggered by insufficient nutrients in foods. Therefore, to avoid this burden, countries put more effort on providing education to their community members about eating the right foods and not just more or less food, people need to know what constitutes a healthy diet and how to make good food choices.
For that reason,nutritionists from the BICHOBs project trained rural women assembly from Mbeya district in Mbeya region in order to reduce the challenge of malnutrition to the communities.
The situation before the intervention:
Before the intervention/training rural women from Mbeya district were facing the challenge of food insecurity due to poor food utilization which was caused by poor food choices and increased rates of malnutrition.
Challenge:
- Low awareness on nutrition especially regarding poor food choices,which has led to poor eating habits and increased rate of malnutrition.
- Low consumption of fruits and vegetables; this is caused due to low awareness as well as it is cost full which most of them are not able to buy due to low income.
- Low income; this is caused due to low income generating activities which enable them to increase income for their families.
- Low consumption of protein-rich food sources, due to their high cost, makes them unaffordable for many. As a result, most children under five and women of reproductive age suffer from protein-energy malnutrition.
The intervention:
- Nutrition education for pregnant women; Nutrition awareness provided to the participants by nutritionists on six groups of foods and their importance to the human body, importance of exclusive breastfeeding for six months without giving anything and how to overcome non communicable diseases especially diabetes.
- Establishment of home gardens; participants were able to learn about good agricultural practices on vegetable production in order to increase production and consumption of vegetables, whereby 14 indigenous seeds of vegetables were distributed and planted.
- Keeping rabbits; 6 rabbits were distributed to rural women and trained on how to rise in order to increase consumption of protein, in order to reduce protein energy malnutrition among children and women of reproductive age.
The Impact:
The participants acknowledged the forum for increasing their consumption of protein-rich food (rabbits) and vegetables, thanks to the high production from home gardens and rapid breeding of rabbits. This has enhanced their nutritional status,health, well-being and improved their economic situation through the sale of vegetables and rabbits, enabling them to support their families. Additionally, participants have adopted sustainable farming practices, using rabbit urine as organic pesticide, organic fertilizer, and local seeds, which has reduced farming costs and led to healthier food production. Comprehensive nutrition education has resulted in healthier eating habits, preventing stunting and malnutrition in their families.
Conclusion:
Participants thanked the rural women assembly which brought them together and got an opportunity to receive the training. It has not only changed their eating habits but also improved their life through increasing their income after selling vegetables and rabbits.
