Protecting maternal and child nutrition amidst Covid-19
Kenyan households continue to grapple with a myriad of challenges as Covid-19 impacts become more apparent. One of the most widespread effects is a rise in food insecurity due to declining purchasing power for many families. A strategy for bridging the gap in income is to cut back on more expensive, nutritious, and diverse foods, in favour of a cheaper and more filling, but less nutritious energy-based diet.
While children are usually the last to be affected by hunger, as parents will normally reduce their portion sizes, or skip meals to feed their children, they become more vulnerable if food shortages become chronic. In Kenya, the World Food Programme reports that 29% of children in rural areas and 20 % of those living in cities are stunted. In the wake of Covid-19, these children are at a heightened risk of severe malnutrition that could cause physical and cognitive health consequences impacting them for years to come.
School closures heightening risks for low-income families
A lot of Kenyan school going children rely on school feeding programmes for part, or even most, of their daily food intake. For some households, that meal is also the only stable source of nutrition that children consume. With schools currently closed, families have more mouths to feed, but with a much lower ability to access food. For this reason, the nutritional status of many school-going children is deteriorating.
Four months into the crisis, the estimation by the United Nations is that 368 million children globally are missing out on school meals, which provide a much-needed source of food for low-income families.
As even more families fall into the poverty trap, prioritising regions and households whose children relied on school feeding programmes is vital in developing adequate safety nets. A number of social protection initiatives are introducing direct cash transfers or nutrient sensitive food packages to compensate for the loss of feeding programmes. One such initiative is Food4Education, a social enterprise that delivers meals to primary schools. With schools closed, the programme has adjusted its model from providing ready-cooked meals in schools, to distributing food rations and cash vouchers to families with school going children.
The enterprise utilises a digital mobile platform Tap2Eat and has access to useful data that may help other agencies, including government programmes, in better targeting the most vulnerable children.
Another Covid-related risk for school-going children, especially in rural areas, is the exploitation of child workers. Since the abrupt closure of schools on 15th March coincided with the onset of the planting season in Kenya, many households with access to agricultural land have taken advantage of the “free child labour” on farms, as well as for household chores such as fetching water and firewood. When coupled with inadequate nutrition, such labour-intensive work could further harm children’s physical, as well as mental health.
Supporting adequate nutrition before birth
A previous research in Kenya found that 53% of expectant women to be vitamin D deficient, while 36.1 % had iron deficiency. This study goes to show that pregnant women often experience micronutrient deficiencies, leading to irreversible damage to their unborn children. It is therefore critical to safeguard the diet of pregnant women, as well as breastfeeding mothers, who are particularly vulnerable due to pandemic-related disruptions to pre- and post-natal care, and essential nutrition services.
Whereas such services are still available in most parts of the country, many women are avoiding healthcare facilities for fear of contracting Covid-19, or of being sent away to quarantine centres if they test positive. Moreover, transport limitations around the country have blocked access to maternal nutritional care and services.
The government recently released guidelines for breastfeeding mothers, which recommended exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of birth, while the World Health Organisation states that mothers with Covid-19 can actually continue to breastfeed. This is welcome advice as breastfeeding is critical for improved survival of infants, and provides them with lifelong health and development advantages.
Covid-19 has confirmed the importance of having an effective monitoring and surveillance system to identify and target households that are the most socio-economically vulnerable, including children, pregnant and lactating women. Providing nutritious foods to such households will help to minimise the ripple effects of Covid-19 on food and nutrition security. Even as the government continues to reassess policy priorities, a gender-responsive social protection system is essential, to cater for these specific needs, and ensure adequate and positive nutrition practices.
Written by Sharon Cheboi
This article is part of Covid-19 Food/Future, an initiative under TMG ThinkTank for Sustainability’s SEWOH Lab project (https://www.tmg-thinktank.com/sewoh-lab). It aims at providing a unique and direct insight into the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on national and local food systems. Also follow @CovidFoodFuture, our Video Diaries From Nairobi, and @TMG_think on Twitter. Funding for this initiative is provided by BMZ, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
