Malnutrition cases on the rise
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Wednesday March 22, 2017 15:26
Gaborone city Mayor, Kagiso Thutlwe said the city council has registered an increase of malnutrition cases from a minimum of four to six in Block 9 and 65 in Old Naledi.
“I am concerned that we continue to register persistent malnutrition cases. Despite extensive education, these children miss appointments, hence increasing mortality rate. Let us work together to help to reduce malnutrition,” Thutlwe said.
However, city clerk Mpho Mathe said unemployment or low socio-economic status is one of the causes of malnutrition. “Cases differ from one area to the other.
These numbers have increased from last year but health officers are working 24 hours in order to reduce these cases. Parents are not taking care of their children and one of the reasons for that is lack of employment.
The other is poverty,” Mathe said.
Mathe said at Old Naledi, they have a malnutrition clinic where the affected children go for check-ups. He said the children are given double ration of food to enable parents to feed them three times a day.
“The other thing that they are given is plumpy nut (paste), which has high protein content.
Follow-ups are done by health education assistants to monitor the situation and their parents are provided with counselling.”
On other issues, Thutlwe said Gaborone is besieged by rising levels of crime and drug abuse that are prevalent in schools and streets. “We must ask ourselves, what is the role of the council in addressing this problem?
Drugs and substance abuse continue to rob many of our youth their future.
The council must play a leading role in addressing this calamity. One of the high rates of drug abuse is attributed to the skyrocketing unemployment amongst our youth,” he said.