Berea, Sept. 02 — The Berea District Nutrition team held a stakeholders’ meeting on Wednesday in Teyateyaneng to assess progress, challenges, and ongoing activities aimed at improving nutrition and food security in the district.
Giving feedback on activities undertaken by the Ministry of Health, District Nutritionist Ms. Tholoana Masupha said the ministry used World Breastfeeding Week to establish breastfeeding support groups aimed at helping mothers practise proper breastfeeding.
She said the groups were established at Good Shepherd and St. Theresa clinics, with plans to establish others at St. Magdalena, Berea Hospital, and Maluti Hospital.
Ms. Masupha said members from the identified facilities were trained in February because the facilities recorded high numbers of deliveries.
She said 57 members were trained at Good Shepherd Clinic while 35 were trained at St. Theresa Clinic, explaining that the number of members is determined by the number of villages served, with one member representing each village.
Ms. Masupha highlighted that none of the trained members is a man, stressing that breastfeeding is not only for women but also involves men.
The Ministry of Health also conducted a nutrition assessment at ECCD centres in Sebitia, Bethany and Kolojane, where it identified challenges contributing to poor nutrition among children.
Ms Masupha said the assessment revealed that some communities have limited access to family planning services, resulting in closely spaced pregnancies and contributing to increased cases of malnutrition.
She said some mothers also stop breastfeeding earlier than recommended after becoming pregnant with another child, affecting the duration of breastfeeding for the younger child.
Ms Masupha said the ministry continues to emphasise the importance of family planning, proper breastfeeding and adequate nutrition to communities as part of efforts to address malnutrition among children.
Meanwhile, District National Teacher Trainer in the Ministry of Education and Training, Mrs. Blossom Maja, said the ministry received garden tools from development partners, which it distributed to 10 primary schools and 10 Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) centres to assess their involvement in agricultural activities.
She said the equipment included shovels, digging forks, hand forks and watering cans.
Mrs. Maja added that at ECCD level, the ministry focuses on schools with smart climate plots.
On the other hand, Nutrition Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition, Mrs. ’Malehloenya Mphanya, said Berea has 1,108 nutrition clubs, but only 83 are active across the district’s six resource centres.
She said the clubs aim to ensure food availability and promote proper nutrition in communities, but their activities face challenges, including low participation by young people and men.
Mrs. Mphanya said another challenge is that some people form nutrition clubs mainly to access assistance from development partners rather than to sustain nutrition-related activities in their communities.
She said the nutrition office also encourages households to establish food production plots and reduce the practice of sharing livestock, as households can slaughter their own animals for proper consumption and help reduce malnutrition in the district.
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