By Lorraine Anyango
A major health assessment in Kisumu County has delivered a sobering snapshot of child welfare, revealing that fewer than one in five infants and young children (17.7%) are currently receiving a Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD). The finding indicates a widespread failure to provide children aged 6–23 months with the necessary diversity of food groups and appropriate feeding frequency required for healthy development, raising urgent concerns among health officials and county leaders
The study, a Maternal, Infant, and Young Children Nutrition (MIYCN) Knowledge, Attitude, Beliefs & Practices Assessment, points to a crisis where essential nutrients are missing, while sugary and ultra-processed options are alarmingly common. The Minimum Acceptable Diet rate, a critical benchmark combining diet diversity and meal frequency, highlights that the vast majority of Kisumu’s youngest residents are starting life with a nutritional deficit that could have long-term consequences for their growth and cognitive function.
Sweet Drinks and Empty Plates
Adding to the poor overall diet quality is a troubling consumption of unhealthy items. The survey found that a staggering 42.6% of young children consumed sweet beverages, and 11.5% were given unhealthy or ultra-processed foods. These habits displace nutrient-rich foods, further compromising the children’s ability to thrive.
The deficiencies in essential food groups are equally severe. Nearly two-fifths of the children surveyed (38.7%) consumed absolutely no fruits or vegetables. Furthermore, less than half (40.7%) consumed vital protein sources like eggs and/or flesh foods (EFF).
For children who were not being breastfed, the findings were even more dire: zero percent met the Minimum Milk Feeding Frequency (MMFF), signaling a complete lapse in tailored feeding support for this vulnerable group.
Call for Multi-Sectoral Intervention
In light of these findings, the assessment stresses the need for immediate, multi-sectoral intervention. Recommendations include promoting comprehensive messaging on diet diversity and meal frequency, integrating Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) counseling into social protection programs, and enforcing regulations on the marketing of sugary and ultra-processed foods to children under two.
The report suggests practical steps such as conducting food demonstrations on safe and affordable animal-source foods, subsidizing EFF sources, and supporting horticulture production in low-income urban areas to boost vegetable and fruit availability.
The survey was funded by the French embassy through UNICEF and implemented by KRCS and the County Government of Kisumu. The data indicate that a strong and coordinated effort is required from health, agriculture, and policy sectors to reverse Kisumu County’s alarming child nutrition trend. The severity and complexity of childhood malnutrition necessitate a decisive shift from isolated interventions to a comprehensive, coordinated approach involving various government sectors, technical partners, and community stakeholders. The multi-faceted root causes of malnutrition span health, education, economic, and social domains, making a multi-sectoral response the only viable path to sustainable solutions.
The recent MSN Coordinating Forum meeting successfully convened high-level decision-makers to collectively strategize on child nutrition. Attendees included the CEC Member for Education, Mr. John Awiti, the CEC Member for Sports and Gender Beatrice Odongo, and Mama County, H.E. Dorothy Nyong’o.
The forum also served as a platform for key implementing partners, including Kmet/NurtureFirst and CHAMPS (Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance), to present their technical findings. Their presentations focused on critical data relating to:
• Caregiver practices and their impact on child well-being.
• The underlying causes of mortality among children under five, with nutrition consistently identified as a key element.
This input from partners highlights the critical link between malnutrition and child survival, providing an evidence-based mandate for expanded government action. Partners present
CHAMPs, Kmet Kenya /Nurture First, ADS Nyanza SOS, KRCS,
Kidogo
The coordinating body for child nutrition in Kisumu County has been strategically expanding to reflect the complexity of the issue. The Department of Sports and Gender is the latest entry to the MSN. Initially, the core departments collaborating to address child nutrition included Health Education, Water, Social Protection and Agriculture.
The inclusion of the Department of Sports and Gender acknowledges the vital roles of women’s empowerment (gender) in household food security and decision-making, as well as the link between physical activity and long-term health (sports) in achieving optimal nutritional outcomes. This evolution provides a clear blueprint for why a structured, high-level, multi-sectoral approach is the most effective mechanism for creating sustainable and impactful solutions to child nutrition challenges.