Nutrition Program Bears Fruit in Malawi Village
With the pilot project now concluding, officials aim to expand the program’s reach to uplift other marginalized Malawian communities struggling with malnutrition.
MZIMBA, Malawi— A 5-year nutrition program called Afikepo is making a measurable difference in Visepo Mithi model village in northern Malawi’s Mzimba district, writes Catherine Tembo.
For years, chronic childhood malnutrition plagued the remote region, but that's changing thanks to the program.
Implemented by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UNICEF, Afikepo — meaning “let them grow to their fullest potential” in Chichewa — was launched in 2018 to enhance nutrition security, and is funded by the EU.
The $5 million program targeted 10 Malawian districts struggling with high rates of stunting among children under 5.
“Through this project, we have learned many things including how our families can be eating balanced diets,” said Visepo Mithi resident Israel Mithi, an Afikepo community champion.
“The knowledge that we have gained has enabled us to eat all the 6 food groups helping our children to grow healthily.”
Mithi explains malnutrition is no longer pervasive because villagers have embraced animal rearing, home gardening and other program-taught self-sufficiency practices.
As a result, he says, once-distended bellies and bowed legs are disappearing among the village’s youth.
To boost incomes and nutrition, each of the six Visepo Mithi households received five donated goats from under the program.
With proper livestock rearing and breeding, the initial 30 goats are multiplying.
"Visepo Mithi model village has performed well in the implementation of the Afikepo project interventions and we believe that the goats that have been distributed to the six households will boost their nutrition security long term,” said local veterinary officer Amos Chandeka.
District FAO Coordinator Wezzie Kumwenda said that while biometric indicators have been slow to change over the past five years, the knowledge transfer has been a clear success, as evidenced by villagers adopting diversified diets and best practices.
She said families are sustainably growing and consuming nutritious crops, keeping small livestock, and preparing enriched porridges for young children.
The program has also led to improvements in sanitation, drinking water access, prenatal care and women’s livelihoods.
“While the stunting indicators have not greatly changed yet, the knowledge gained through the Afikepo project will reduce stunting levels over time,” Kumwenda explained.
“We have already observed very positive changes.”
With the pilot project now concluding, officials aim to expand the program’s reach to uplift other marginalised Malawian communities struggling with malnutrition.