Sitting on a mat inside her mud-walled house at their rural home in Kinarani village in Kaloleni sub-county, Dhahabu Chanzera tries to feed her baby Linda maize porridge.
Linda, a one-year-old baby, suffers from moderate malnutrition and is on her journey to recovery.
The porridge is mixed with micronutrient powder she got at the health centre when she took her daughter for a check-up.
Dhahabu says her daughter's health started to deteriorate, but she couldn't figure out the problem.
"Children of her age were growing well, but it's like she stopped growing suddenly," said Dhahabu.
After she took her to the nearby Kinarani Health Centre, baby Linda was diagnosed with moderate malnutrition.
"She has now started to recover after I took her to the hospital and I was given micronutrient powder," said Dhahabu.
To help monitor her daughter, Dhahabu was trained on how to recognise signs of malnutrition in children using a special bracelet.
"I was trained and given MUAC. I feed her and as the days go by, I use the bracelet to monitor her improvement at home,” she says.
The tri-colored Mid-Upper Arm Circumference [MUAC] bracelet is vital in identifying malnourished children. Only if MUAC, shows yellow or red, signifies a state of moderate or severe acute malnutrition, do parents need to go to a health center to get malnutrition treatment for their child.
She also received counselling and brief training on proper child feeding and hygiene practices.
The training enabled her to continue screening for malnutrition within her own family as well as pass these newly adopted skills on to her peers.
"The training also highlighted the importance of exclusive breastfeeding; It changed my approach; I used to give my children ugali and traditional vegetables before they were even four months old. Because of these training sessions, I now know the importance of exclusively breastfeed before introducing solid foods to the baby," Dhahabu explains.
Baby Linda's story mirrors that of many children in Kilifi who suffer malnutrition and stunted growth due to poor unbalanced feeding.
Elina Nzaro, a nurse in charge at Kinarani dispensary, says when baby Linda was brought to the health facility, she was in bad shape.
Elina then advised Dhahabu about the types of foods Linda needed to eat to prevent her condition from worsening.
“I advised her to rely on nutrient-rich foods to improve her daughter’s nutrition and health status,” Said Elina.
Parents should make sure that children eat a diversified diet such as “four-star porridge. This hearty dish, which contains all the micronutrients needed for a child’s proper development, is a blend of foods that includes at least one ingredient from each of the “four-star” groups: starches (first star), animal proteins (second star), pulses (third star), and fruits and vegetables (fourth star) nurse Elina advised.
“Being around their children every day, mothers are best placed to detect the first signs of malnutrition. That’s why we put them at the center of our screening strategies," She says.
Nurse Elina says malnourished children suffer irreversible damage; they grow up smaller and weaker, and their brains might not develop fully.
She noted that missing out on a nutritious diet could severely damage a child's ability to read and write.
''Even when a child’s life is saved, acute malnutrition can cause stunting, a permanent disability caused by insufficient nutrition during a child’s early years, resulting in poor growth and slow development," she says.
Elina says they have been having community outreaches in order to reach mothers and children in far-flung areas.
"Daily basis, we have health education for all mothers. We do a health talk depending on the scheduled topic for that particular day," she said.
“Mothers need to be well nourished to give their babies a good start in life and be able to breastfeed. Families need help to give children the nutrition and nurturing they need,” she added.
Further, she says support is needed to educate the community on how to harvest more food for their families through kitchen gardening.
Malnutrition causes stunting in children. Stunted children may appear normal, but their height is significantly below average. Food shortages aren’t the only problem in Kilifi. Many children are getting enough to eat, but their food lacks the necessary nutrients.
Four in 10 children in Kilifi have a diet so restricted that it is likely to harm their growth, brain development and chances of survival, according health officials in Kilifi.
Statistics also indicate that 7 .2 per cent of children below the age of five are stunted.
Kilifi county nutrition coordinator Angela Wali says currently the county is facing very high levels of stunting among children.
''In every ten children within the age bracket of six to nine months we have a minimum of four who are stunted. This poses a very big challenge when it comes to them reaching their maximum potential in adulthood.'' said Wali.
At most children feed on only two food groups daily – typically milk with a starchy food such as maize or rice.
“Children who consume just two food groups per day, for example ugali and some milk, are up to 50 percent more likely to experience severe forms of malnutrition," said Wali.
She further says that; this can have an irreversible negative impact on their survival, growth and brain development.
Many of the children live in areas that have been designated by health officials as “hunger hotspots” – including Ganze, Magarini and Kaloleni sub-counties – where access to food has been deteriorating due to drought.
Stunting, which is a consequence of malnutrition in the first two years of a child's life, is largely irreversible. It also affects a child's mental growth.
The official noted that apart from food shortage, other factors like poor sanitation and contaminated drinking water also cause malnutrition, leading to stunted growth among children.
''Undernourished children perform less well in school, they will be able to do less well as an adult and, even worse, their health situation in adult life may be negatively affected," Wali said, adding that they are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases, such as heart disease or diabetes.
To help manage the situation the county Department of Health has partnered with various NGOs with nutrition supplement programs for the children and pregnant women.
Among the efforts are provisions of micro nutrient powders to children who are below the age of two years.
"We are committed to giving every child in Kilifi the very best start in life and helping women to enjoy a healthy pregnancy is our key part,'' Said Wali.
Ms Wali has urged mothers to breast-feed their children for at least the first six months to provide key antibodies and nutrients.
Even though residents harvested their traditional staples of maize and vegetables after some parts of the county experienced rains early this year, it warded off hunger but not malnutrition.
Health experts in the area noted that; Poor nutrition in pregnant and breastfeeding women can lead to several health issues for their children, including premature births, low birth weight, stunting and wasting in newborns while, children born to malnourished mothers are also more likely to develop chronic health problems and have a higher risk of mortality.
Kilifi county Government, through the Department of Health launched a Nutrition Action plan, a feeding programme that aims at feeding almost one million children ,lactating and pregnant mothers.
