Liberia Faces Malnutrition Crisis: 30% of Children Suffer

A demographic health survey conducted by the Ministry of Health has revealed that 30 percent of children under the age of five years are malnourished.

The Director of Nutrition at the Ministry of Health, Annette Davis said over 37,000 children under five are stunting and are experiencing micronutrient deficiencies because of food insufficiencies.

Madam Davis spoke recently at a two-day training for stakeholders on nutrition mapping data collection enumerators organized by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Monrovia.

Madam Annette Davis said she knows that the causes of malnutrition are multiple because most of the food that is eaten here is imported.

”To add insult to injury, teenage pregnancy is on the increase as babies giving birth to babies without adequate preparation to take care of children,” she noted.

However, she stated that over 32 percent of the teenagers are getting pregnant, coupled with poor care and feeding practices for some of the children.

She said the window for avoiding malnutrition is the first 1,000 days which is from birth to two years.

According to her, in Liberia, child feeding practice is very poor.

In remarks, the National Coordinator of the Stepping Up Nutrition Campaign in Liberia, Augustine Musah, assured the FAO of the government’s commitment to combating malnutrition in Liberia.

The training was facilitated by the International Nutrition Data Analyst from the UNFOA head offices in Rome, Italy. It brought together data collectors from the 15 sub-political divisions in Liberia.