County Nutrition Coordinator Cynthia Lokidor has announced that supplementary food stock across health facilities in Loima Sub-County is enough for the next one month. The supplements are meant for therapeutic feeding program targeting vulnerable groups of people in the community, which include expectant mothers, lactating mothers, children up to 59 months.
Ms. Lokidor was speaking in Loima Sub-County yesterday while leading a team of nutrition specialists from her unit, to check, verify, tally and marry registers with a physical count of food supplements such as Ready to Use Supplementary Food (RUSF), Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RTUF) and Super Cereal (Porridge).
She said according to the recent short rains assessment report by National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), malnutrition in the County is critical, while Turkana South and East Sub-Counties are extremely critical.
She said the nutrition audit exercise will help in planning, restocking and assessing the vulnerability of targeted population, adding that malnutrition cases that do not recover will be readmitted in the program or referred for further diagnosis and treatment to Lodwar Referral Hospital.
Loima Sub-County Nutrition Officer Josephine Kasile also said that the therapeutic feeding program is being carried out to cushion the most vulnerable groups from malnutrition related death as drought is still biting and no signs of rainfall.
Ms. Kasile also said that the exercise will also inform the levels of malnutrition in the Sub-County and the level of intervention to make sure that residents are healthy. She disclosed that her Sub-County has 37 health facilities including containers.
The week long exercise that started on Monday and will end tomorrow, is being supported by a German NGO Welhunger Hilfe, while food supplements was supplied by the World Food Program and UNICEF through the support from USAID.
Other officers who are taking part in the exercise include County Agri-Nutrition officer Aron Nanok, Nutrition Officer Maltida Loine (Nadapal), Nutrition Officer Naomi Nyangares (St. Elizabeth Lorugum Health Center), Nursing Officer Frumentius Egialan (Moruese), Nursing Officer Oudrie Oyoo (Kaitese), Nutrition Officer Justus Lopeeto (Turkwel) among others.
