President Lungu worries over stunted growth in children

Mon, 26 Dec 2016 10:44:19 +0000

By BENNIE MUNDANDO

 STUNTED growth among children is still a problem in Zambia, says President Lungu.

He said therefore that there was need need for parents to work hard to ensure that their children were accorded with the best health services especially in the first five years to reduce the vice.

Speaking at Chilenje Clinic yesterday before he donated hampers to babies born on Christmas day, President Lungu said there was need for parents to take keen interest in their babies in their early stages of life by ensuring that they accessed quality health services for them to grow well.

He said while some people were short due to their genes and Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) make up, others were affected by health problems which needed to be solved if Zambia was to conclusively get rid of such a medical condition.

He said parents should ensure that they accessed the best medical attention by ensuring that they followed the under-five programmes for their children to the letter.

He implored parents to help government in bringing up health babies by making sure they did not skip medical services due to them as they grew up as parenting demanded hard work.

“You will need to work hard in the first five years of your children’s childhood. That is where you make or break because stunted growth is a problem in this country,

“You must ensure that the under-five programmes are followed accordingly by ensuring that these children are taken to clinics regularly so that they access the best medical care due to them. We are here today and we have brought you gifts because Christmas is time of giving and remembering the birth of Christ,” said President Lungu

Other places that President Lungu visited yesterday included Kalingalinga clinic and Our Lady’s Hospice where he interacted with mothers and patients.