ABOUT 42 PERCENT OF CHILDREN LESS THAN FIVE YEARS IN IRINGA ARE STUNTED

A cross section of Kilolo residents are listening to some speeches during the climax of the world breastfeeding week celebrations at held Kilolo village in Kilolo district, Iringa Region at Regional level yesterday. (Photo by Friday Simbaya) 

KILOLO: Statistics show that 42 percent of children under the age of five in Iringa have been stunted, 3.6 percent thin 13.8 percent have less weight than their age. 

The statement wane made yesterday by Iringa Regional Medical Officer (RMO), Dr. Robert Salim, on behalf of the Iringa Regional Commissioner Ally Hapi during the climax of world breastfeeding week celebrations held at kilolo Village in Kilolo District, Iringa at regional level. 

He said that breast milk has benefits for both breastfeeding baby and breastfeeding mother, which for a baby breastfeeding is the only food that provides all the nutrients he/she needs in proper balance of health and well-being. 

Hapi added that mother's milk is the only dietary with antibiotic that works as a vaccine that protects the child from illness and helps him/her to cope with the situation when he receives a variety of diagnostics. 

He said that the other benefits are that the mother's milk is absorbed and absorbed more easily by the baby with other nutrients, hence good physical and mental development. 

"The well-fed child depends on the height of the age according to the age and conditions that enable him to have a good level of understanding of the things surrounding him," he emphasized. 

He said that this contributes to a good score in his classroom lesions and adds that breast milk feeding is a source of strength for the child's development. 

Thus, it contributes greatly to enhancing educational experience, corporate participation and increasing income in the future of the child. 

Infants and young children need the right foods at the right time to grow and develop to their full potential. The most critical time for good nutrition is in the brief 1,000 day period from the start of a woman’s pregnancy until a child’s second birthday, according to UNICEF. 

Breast milk is a crucial food for children’s health and development during this critical window. It provides all of the vitamins, minerals, enzymes and antibodies that children need to grow and thrive in the first 6 months of life, and continues to be a pivotal part of their diet up to the age of 2 or beyond. 

Breast milk is safe: it is always the right temperature, requires no preparation, and is available even in environments with poor sanitation and unsafe drinking water. 

In this way, breastfeeding guarantees babies access to a reliable, sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. Breastfeeding also supports healthy brain development, higher educational achievement, and lowers the risk of obesity and other chronic diseases. 

ASILIMIA 42 YA WATOTO CHINI YA MIKA MITANO MKOANI IRINGA WAMEDUMAA

Kikundi cha wazee wa Kilolo cha utamaduni wa kabila la wahehe kikitoa burudani wakati wa Kilele cha maadhimisho unyonyeshaji maziwa ya mama duniani yalioanza tarehe 01-07, August, 2018 yaliofanyika kimkoa katika Kijiji cha Kilolo wilayani Kilolo, mkoani Iringa jana. (Picha na Friday Simbaya)

Takwimu zinaonesha kuwa asilimia 42 ya watoto wenye umri chini ya miaka mitano mkoani Iringa wamedumaa, asilimia 3.6 wamekonda na asilimia 13.8 wana uzito pungufu ukilinganisha na umri wao. 

Akizungumza na mganga mkuu wa mkoa wa iringa (RMO), Dr. Robert Salim kwa nia ya Mkuu wa mkoa wa Iringa Ally Hapi wakati wa siku ya killele cha maadhimisho ya wiki ya unyonyeshaji wa maziwaya mama duniani yaliyofanyika kimkoa katika kijii cha Kilolo wilayani Kilolo, mkoani iringa jana. 

Alisema kuwa unyonyeshaji watoto maziwa ya mama unafaida nyinyi kwa upande zote mbili kwa mtoto anayenyonya maziwa na mama anayenyonyesha. 

Hapi alisema kuwa kwa mtoto anayenyonya maziwa ya mama ndiyo chakula pekee kinachompatia virutubishi vyote anavyohitaji kwa uwiano sahihi kwa afya na ustawi. 

Aliongeza kuwa maziwa ya mama ndiyo chakula pekee chenye viini vya kingamwili ambavyo hufanya kazi kama chanjo inayomlinda mtoto dhidi ya maradhi na kumsaidia kuhimili maradhipindi anapopata maambulizi mbalimbali. 

Hapi alisema kuwa faida nyingine ni kwamba maziwa hayo ya mama humeng’enywe na kufyonzwa kwa urahisi zaidi mwa mtoto ukilinganisha na vyakula akue na apate maendeleo mazuri kimwili na kiakili. 

“Mtoto anayenyonyeshwa ipasavyo huongezaka urefu kulingana na umri kwa kasi nzuri hali inayomfanya awe na kiwango kizuri cha uelewa wa mambo yanayomzunguka,” alisisitiza. 

Alisema kuwa hali hii huchangia kupata alama nzuri katika masoso yake darasani na kuongeza kuwa unyonyenyeshaji wa maziwa ya mama unaupatia nguvu mfumo wa ukuaji na maendeleo ya ufahamu na utambuzi (IQ)wa mtoto. 

Hivyo, kwa kiasi kikubwa husaidia katika kuimarisha mannikio ya elimu, ushirika katika nguvu kazi na kuongeza kipato katika maisha ya baadaye ya mtoto. Na Friday Simbaya, Kilolo