67 children die due to malnutrition in Zambezi region

The Zambezi region has recorded 67 deaths of children under the age of five due to malnutrition over the last four years.

These deaths are out of the 545 children who were diagnosed and treated for malnutrition from 2021 to date.

Since the beginning of this year, 17 children have died as a result of malnutrition, while approximately 137 have been hospitalised.

Regional health officials provided these statistics to the members of the parliamentary standing committee on gender equality, social development and social affairs on Monday.

The committee was conducting a one-day assessment of the malnutrition situation in the region.

Katima Mulilo District Hospital medical officer Juliana Sanandwa noted that malnourished children are admitted to the hospital almost on a daily basis, with the numbers increasing during drought periods.

“We do not have enough medication in the hospital to treat these children, as all of them come with opportunistic infections and need antibiotics. We also do not have enough supplementary feeds,” she said.