RUVUMA YAANZA MIKAKATI YA KUONDOA UDUMAVU KWA WATOTO YATOA MAZIWA MASHULENI

Despite Ruvuma Region producing abundant food crops, the region still faces the challenge of stunting children by 30 percent. This situation has been cited as a stain on the region, with the main reason being that some parents sell all the food in the market without leaving any space for children's nutrition. In response to this challenge, the region has begun to put in place various strategies including distributing milk in schools as well as providing nutrition education and healthy food to parents. Speaking during the milk distribution exercise for Songea Municipality school students, Songea District Commissioner, Hon. Wilman Kapenjama Ndile, said the issue of stunting of 30 percent in Ruvuma Region is worrying, especially considering that Ruvuma is a leader in food crop production in the country. He said it is important for parents to change and ensure that their children get good food and a complete diet in order to overcome the stunting challenge. For his part, the Director of Songea Municipality, Bashir Mhoja, said that it is still very important for children to drink milk due to its health benefits and its contribution to increasing the ability of students to do well in school. And some parents have stated that one of the biggest challenges is the habit of selling all food in the market without leaving a part for family consumption, which causes children to lack a complete diet. They have requested that nutrition education and proper use of food continue to be provided to help overcome the problem of stunting in the Ruvuma Region.