Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa has highlighted the ongoing challenge of stunting in the country, calling for enhanced joint efforts as one-third of the country’s children are affected.

Nutrition is a critical priority for the government in enabling the implementation of development plans and economic activities within communities, including agriculture, fishing, livestock and trade, he said on Thursday.

He made the remarks in Mwanza city while closing the 10th annual general meeting of nutrition stakeholders.

Citing statistics from the Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS) 2018, the PM underscored the seriousness of the situation manifested in part in a rise in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases linked to poor nutrition.

He appealed to stakeholders to intensify efforts in implementing nutritional initiatives and called for a comprehensive national dialogue on ways to fast-track the implementation of existing plans.

Majaliwa rooted for the integration of nutrition education into various platforms, including making it a national agenda in places of worship and through media outreach. 

“The government is continuing with these efforts under the leadership of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who has directed all regional commissioners to ensure that these initiatives are implemented effectively,” he said, calling on the Regional Administration and Local Governments wing of the President’s Office to oversee implementation.

The PM also called on Tanzania’s development partners to enhance food fortification programmes, particularly in rural areas.

“The goal is to ensure the availability of affordable equipment for mixing nutrients and thus facilitate the local production of the nutrients at a low cost,” he added.

He said that the government is committed to eradicating all forms of malnutrition in the country, also calling on all nutrition stakeholders to make good use of the findings from the mid-term review report “to assess themselves and take appropriate measures to improve the implementation of nutrition interventions”.

Further, the PM directed regions and local government councils across the country to utilise the national guidelines for providing food and nutrition services to primary school students, ensuring that the use of fortified foods is included and budgeted for in annual plans and budgets.

He urged ministries, agencies, institutions and public organisations to make full use of the National Comprehensive Nutrition Action Plan and Budget, ensuring that nutrition issues are integrated into plans and adequately funded for full implementation each year.

William Lukuvi, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Policy, Parliamentary Affairs and Coordination), meanwhile said that the meeting brought together nutrition stakeholders from both the public and private sectors as well as a range of Tanzania’s development partners.

He said that the meeting was out to discuss in depth achievements and challenges relating to the implementation of nutrition interventions in the country and to evaluate the progress made in line with the goals set in the second comprehensive nutrition plan.

“The Prime Minister’s Office has continued to coordinate the implementation of this comprehensive plan, which began in financial year 2021/2022 and, as nutrition stakeholders, we have seen significant achievements during the second year of its implementation,” he noted.

Dr Jim Yonazi, Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (Policy, Parliament, and Coordination), said that over three million children in Tanzania suffer from stunting – a situation he described as dire for the nation’s future. 

He said that more than 600,000 children are severely malnourished, with a wasting rate of 3.5 per cent “going by 2015 statistics”.

The conference concluded with five resolutions aimed at addressing poor nutrition among children, including the incorporation of nutritional services into the National Vision 2050.

Archard Ngemela, Project Manager for the Food Security Programme at GAIN Tanzania, underlined the urgent need for communities to access and use fortified flour. 

He said that GAIN has developed a project featuring equipment that process flour by mixing essential nutrients, “while we also support schools in providing this vital service”