Rural mums learn better nutrition

Weekender
HEALTH

By LEO WAFIWA
JENNY Inok, 30, from Guykan Village, Kumai-Bomai lLG in the rocky mountains of Gumine in Chimbu is a proud young mum of an eight-months-old healthy baby born under a nutrition programme conducted in her remote village by community volunteers.
Jenny, like others in remote communities, can’t access television but has heard of Justin Olam’s recent success with the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League in Australia. Justin hails from the nearby Sinasina-Yongomugl district bordering Gumine.
Like other mums in the mountains, she is inspired by Justin’s recent elevation in the world’s toughest league. In traditional Melanesian societies a lot of expectations are placed on children. Jenny also has a dream for her son Joel Bomai to prosper in life.
She is a first time mother and is confident of her son’s prospects because she has been preparing him by taking part in a healthier diet programme. Consequently son Joel is very reactive compared to other babies of the same age in the village.
Having a balanced diet with constant expression of love towards babies during the nine-month gestation period up to delivery and breast feeding is critical for every child’s early cognitive development and growth.
Jenny was introduced to this knowledge as a beneficiary in the PPAP (Productive Partnerships in Agriculture Project) nutrition programme for coffee and cocoa growers in the country.  The programme coincides with the industry rehabilitation project financed by PNG Government under a loan arrangement with World Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad).
The PPAP coffee nutrition component was conducted as a pilot project in Chimbu and Eastern Highlands.  The effort coincides with the respective provinces’ drive to deliver nutrition at community level and aligns with implementation of the National Nutrition Policy 2016-2026 from an agriculture perspective.
Women in Gumine District, inclusive of those under the PPAP coffee rehabilitation project, were recipients of this nutrition training targeting rural pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.
When we talk about nutrition most people think of a fancy expensive diet full of healthy nutritious foods like fried eggs with bread and avocado or fruit, yoghurt and breakfast cereals during the day or the fried chicken with mashed potato and peas or some red meat like steak and vegetables for dinner.
Under the PPAP programme, mothers were taught to identify useful properties (nutrients) in garden food like kaukau, potato, pumpkin, greens and protein like fish, chicken and pork within their locality to prepare balanced meals.
PPAP nutrition expert Lazarus Dawa said a child’s first 1000 days from pregnancy to birth and the first two years of life are important for growth and intellectual development.
Dawa said in PNG sadly, one in two children under five years of age are suffering from chronic forms malnutrition (stunting-short height for their age) which ranked us the fourth highest in the world and second in the Asia-Pacific region.
This will have serious negative outcomes on their education, productivity and even health in later life.
Dawa added that surveys conducted in PNG showed that children were not receiving enough of the right kind of food including breast milk to promote healthy growth and development.  Solid foods, water and even tea/coffee, including animal milks are given a child before six months of age or as early as one month is unacceptable.
Even evidences of feeding only carbohydrate diets is common in rural areas.  Lack of knowledge, access to variety of foods, income and cultural practices are some of the reasons preventing children from receiving optimum nutrition.
World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Department of Health encourage and promote women to give breast milk only to children during the first six months of life and introduce other nutrient-rich foods at six months and continue giving breast milk until the child reaches two years.
Evidence from studies conducted globally, indicates that nutrition in the early life is an important determinant of child survival and success.  Children who have received poor nutrition, care and thrive in unclean environment, are shorter in height and have poor brain development and lower IQ than those who receive good nutrition and care.
The PPAP nutrition specialist Dawa said many people particularly the illiterate population in rural communities did not know the importance or linkage between nutrition and children’s growth and development and its effect on their learning abilities.
He said a baby born under this partnership nutrition programme is a right start to a bright future.
He said so far almost 3,000 pregnant mothers in Gumine and Sinasina Yongomogl districts in Chimbu are fortunate to have been counselled under PPAP nutrition and infant feeding programme.
He said nearly 3,000 children in communities under PPAP coffee rehabilitation project who are below five years of age have been screened for malnutrition in the PPAP coffee rehabilitation communities.
Dawa added that close to 400 counselling and education sessions have been conducted to PPAP farmers and other community members.
The PPAP nutrition programme is employing a multi-sector approach involving provincial health workers with the engagement of volunteers in the villages and wards.
The volunteers comprise of young and old women, elderly men and some youths who were trained by nutrition experts in a week.

Young mother Jenny Inok and her healthy baby Joel Bomai born under the PPAP nutrition programme.

As a partnership effort they have also received logistics and financial support from their provincial department of agriculture and livestock and health offices to conduct training and awareness with mothers in their respective communities in Sinasina-Yongomogl District.
In Boromil Village, Gumine, community leader Lily Graham was engaged as a volunteer working with three other women. They conducted one-to-one awareness with pregnant mothers and put them on a programme where they monitored their diet up to delivery and breast feeding period.
“We were attached with the local health centre. Mothers came with their sick children or for regular check-ups and while waiting to be attended we educated them on what kinds of meals they could find in their locality to feed themselves, their children and families.
“We also conduct mobile awareness by accompanying health officers to villages to conduct nutrition measurement.
“We are seeing some changes in the mothers and their babies,” another volunteer Regina Kaupa said.
During the launching of this nutrition programme in Goroka in April 2018, World Bank PNG office agriculture specialist Allan Oliver said in the country there were two extremes – overweight and underweight or malnutrition.
He said if that is the kind of life we want to pursue and teach then lifestyle diseases will get to us at a later age.
He added that some contributing factors for malnutrition are people not spending money on right things and lack of quality food and balanced diets.
Family Health Coordinator for Eastern Highlands Julie Liviko said nutrition began from conception to growth where the health of the mothers was paramount.
She added:  “The health department can’t do it alone. We need to do it using a team approach. Food and nutrition are basic human rights. Agriculture sector has a chapter to address nutrition of our people.
“Government authorities must also monitor and scrutinise imports of food products. We do not read labels; we just buy because of cost. These foods are contributing to increase in lifestyle diseases in the country.”
Project manager for PPAP coffee Potaisa Hombunaka said the PPAP nutrition effort was also about empowerment of women in rural communities.
“Women folk are the entry point to address this dilemma of nutrition and malnutrition and many women are taking part under PPAP coffee rehabilitation project.”
Chief executive officer of Coffee Industry Corporation Charles Dambui said: “We concentrate too much on volumes. Producing the right type of food is equally important as food security.
“The objective of PPAP is to improve livelihood of growers and nutrition is an important aspect of healthy and happy living. Coffee alone cannot act as sole safety net for rural people. This is where integrated farming where production of food crops is important for security of our people.
“It is hope that the Ifad funded PPAP programme for Fresh Produce Development Agency will consider and include nutrition into its delivery.”
Dambui added that the PPAP model came with a complete package where the road, market and infrastructure components addressed transport, law and order, education and health.
This is where partnership is appreciated.

  • The author is the information and communications officer for Coffee Industry Corporation’s Productive Partnerships in Agriculture Project.

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