Last Updated on 8 years by Publishing Team

Malnutrition a concern

The Permament Secretary for Health and Medical Services Dr Meciusela Tuicakau with Nutrition Specialist from UNICEF Ms Uma Palaniappan and participants at the workshop on malnutrition.

The Ministry of Health & Medical Services remains concerned with malnutrition cases in the country. To effectively address this and strengthen systems in place, the Ministry conducted a week-long workshop to “train the trainers” on Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition in children under the age of 5.

The workshop was officially opened by the Permanent Secretary for Health & Medical Services Dr Meciusela Tuicakau. The aim of the workshop is to further up-skill health workers on preventative measure against malnutrition.

A National Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition guideline was drafted in 2016 by Senior Nutrition Consultant Ghermai Berhe, seconded by stand-in partner Canadem from Canada, to provide the framework for appropriate interventions

Through this training, healthcare providers will be well-equipped and skilled to provide and assist at a community level through early interventions. This will assist with reducing the load of cases seen at health facilities.

“I appeal to all participants of this training to utilize these guidelines as they are highly technical and the Ministry of Health & Medical Services is committed to ensuring appropriate implementation of these guidelines”, Dr Tuicakau said in his address.

UNICEF Nutrition Specialist Ms Uma Palaniappan said that the integrated management of acute malnutrition for children under 5 is one of the life-saving interventions.

“This serves as a key cornerstone of UNICEF’s essential interventions and strategies to improve child survival” Ms Palaniappan said.

The Ministry of Health & Medical Services expresses its sincere gratitude for the support from its various partners in facilitating such training to improve national nutrition rates and child survival.