Mwanza councils urged to utilise nutrition funds effectively
MWANZA: MWANZA councils have been urged to judiciously use nutrition funds to serve schoolchildren and other target groups as outlined in the national nutrition agreement.
The call was made on Friday by the Acting Mwanza Regional Administrative Secretary (RAS), Mr Henry Mwaibambe, during a meeting on the implementation of the Nutrition Agreement for the period between July and September 2025, which brought together experts and community representatives, including religious leaders.
“I advise councils to ensure that they use nutrition funds to benefit schoolchildren and other groups identified in the guidelines to give meaning to the nutrition agreement,” he said.
Mr Mwaibambe noted that challenges such as stunting, malnutrition, thinness, and low body weight require collective efforts from the community, urging collaboration to ensure the delivery of proper nutrition education and support to those in need.
On her part, Mwanza Regional Nutrition Officer, Ms Sophia Lugome, said that during the July–September 2025 period, the region recorded a stunting rate of 28 per cent among children.
She pointed out that Magu and Buchosa councils are leading in stunting cases, directing their executive directors to intensify efforts to address the problem.
Ms Lugome further called upon experts and religious leaders to work closely with her office in providing nutrition education and conducting public awareness campaigns through various radio stations in the region.
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Meanwhile, Mwanza Regional Medical Officer (RMO), Ms Jesca Lebba, said that the nutrition meeting serves as a preventive health platform aimed at reminding staff and the community to avoid unhealthy habits that contribute to non-communicable diseases.
She emphasised the importance of implementing nutrition interventions in line with legal and policy requirements on a quarterly basis at the regional level.
The meeting resolved to summon Kwimba District Council, which has shown poor performance in budget planning and allocation for nutrition interventions, to explain why it had submitted only four per cent of its planned budget, so that appropriate measures and support could be provided.
