The Mozambican Council of Ministers (Cabinet) approved a ten year plan to reduce chronic malnutrition.
The latest statistics put levels of chronic malnutrition at 44 per cent. The targets in the government's plan are to reduce this to 30 per cent in 2015, and 20 per cent in 2020.
Chronic malnutrition results from an inadequate diet over a lengthy period, and is shown by stunting, or insufficient height for age. It is thus distinct from the more deadly acute malnutrition, or wasting, which results from extremely low intake of food, and is essentially synonymous with starvation.
The government spokesperson, Deputy Justice Minister Alberto Nkutumula, told reporters that the strategic objectives of the plan are to improve nutritional status, particularly of children under the age of five, and to improve the health and nutrition of women.
The government hopes to reduce the number of early pregnancies, cut the prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women, reduce the number of infants weighing less than 2.5 kilos at birth, and increase the number of mothers who provide exclusive breast-feeding to their babies in the first six months of life.
"This is a general plan, based on which annual plans will be approved to achieve the goal of reducing chronic malnutrition to 20 per cent by 2020", said Nkutumula.
The causes of chronic malnutrition include not only difficulties in access to adequate amounts of food, but also poor water supply and sanitation resulting in diarrhoeal diseases, early pregnancy, malaria, and respiratory infections.
People suffering from chronic malnutrition are at greater risk of contracting infectious and degenerative diseases, and have a reduced capacity for work or study.
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