By STELLA SIMUTOWE –

THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has appealed to Parliament to finalise the Nutrition Act to curb obesity and stunted growth in the country.
WHO representative, Jacob Mufunda said there was need for the Government to finalise the Nutrition Act and review the policy which is outdated.
He said there was need to scale up preventive programmes than treatment to avoid the increase of obesity and stunted growth.
Dr Mufunda was speaking when he appeared before a Parliamentary Committee on Health.
He said children were affected by stuntedness and being underweight while some women were overweight, all problems that arose from bad eating habits.
“Most children born today are 30 per cent underweight compared to past records and women are at 15 per cent more overweight leading to obesity,” Dr Mufunda said.
He said the weight complications of women sometimes led to problems during pregnancy.
Dr Mufunda said that the National Food and Nutrition Commission (NFNC) needed to be reviewed and the Nutrition Policy should be in line with current nutrition developments and strategic plans.
He said there was need to scale up preventive programmes more than treatment programmes to avoid the increase in cases of obesity and stuntness in children.
Dr Mufunda said health coverage for interventions was limited in many districts in Zambia.
“Coverage is a challenge in most areas and there is need for target interventions to reach the public across the nutrition sector,” he said.
Dr Mufunda said the reviewed Act would ensure that adequate capacity in the nutrition sector was enhanced, targeting interventions and data collection.