Principal Nutrition, HIV and Aids Officer in Mulanje District Mayamiko Makondi speaking on Tuesday when Deputy Minister of Health Enock Phale visited AFIKEPO’s nutrition activities in the district said the council is struggling to sustain nutrition projects implemented by various partners in the district due to lack of nutrition budget and frontline staff.

“We are relying everything on our partners and when they go everything stops because we do not have financial and human resources to monitor and sustain the gains and also improve on failures,” said Makondi.

In his response, Phale said the food and nutrition bill currently at consultation level, is expected to be tabled in the next sitting of parliament for deliberation and he said when passed into law, it will address these challenges.

“Currently we have started lobbying for allocation of nutrition budget to local councils and recruitment of front line nutrition staff in all districts across the country and we believe that once this is achieved, the country will be on course in fighting against malnutrition.

Phale thanked all partners that are promoting nutrition in the country, saying a malnourished generation cannot initiate any development. 

Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) are implementing AFIKEPO activities in Mulanje with financial support from the European Union.