Menongue – At least 97 children aged from six to nine months died as a result of severe malnutrition in eastern Cuando Cubango province in 2022.
In 2021 the region recorded 134 deaths, according to the local health authorities.
Last year, an overall 9,847 cases of malnutrition were diagnosed in the region compared to 16, 783 recorded in 2021.
Speaking to Angop on Thursday, the provincial supervisor of malnutrition programme in Cuando Cubango, Inácio Cativa, said the neglect is to blame for the deaths as the children arrive late in the hospital units.
The disease is caused by early weaning, lack of consumption of nutritious products, among others.
Inácio Cativa attributed the decrease, both in deaths and cases of malnutrition, to intensification of awareness campaigns among parents and guardians about nutritional education.
In Cuando Cubango, the programme controls 10,060 children with malnutrition who are receiving assistance from 25 technicians distributed in the nine municipalities and communes of the province.
The source also announced plans for training this year of more than 59 technicians in nutrition in a first phase.
The goal is to improve the diagnosis and treatment of the disease, mainly for remote areas, in collaboration with municipal administrations.
