The Gender Equitable Nutrition in Tanzania and Uganda (GENTU) project has officially launched in
Moroto, in a significant step towards addressing
malnutrition in Karamoja.
Spearheaded
by the international humanitarian organization Action Against Hunger, the
project has received funding
from the Canadian Government through Global Affairs Canada.
Charles Onyang
Omudu who represented Moroto District Health Officer during the launch,
emphasized the critical timing of the intervention, noting the pressing need
for action in a region grappling with alarming rates of malnutrition.
Omudu
noted that the intervention is a timely response to address malnutrition rates
in communities, which he says have reached alarming levels and thus posing
significant challenges to public health.
On the
other hand, Kalisto
Ojore, the Community Based Facilitator for Nakapiripirit district says their
focus will be to establish mother care groups and provide them with
comprehensive training on diverse approaches to tackle malnutrition.
Ojore argues
that by empowering these groups, they aim to address nutritional deficiencies
and promote healthier lifestyles within communities.
GENTU focuses primarily on improving nutrition outcomes in three
districts of Karamoja including Moroto, Nabilatuk, and Nakapiripirit, with a
particular emphasis on women, adolescent boys and girls, and children under age
five.
Ritah
Kabanyoro, Country Director of Action against Hunger notes that the project
will focus on comprehensive and integrated
nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive strategies, as it adopts a gender transformative approach addressing
gender-based power imbalances with the support and partnership of male power
holders and government decision-makers.
Cue//…Country director on GENTU.