By Nasratu Kargbo
The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Sartie Kenneh says over half of Sierra Leone’s population is food insecure. Dr. Kenneh gave this assessment on the 17th February 2022 whilst delivering a statement at the fourth annual launch of the Sierra Leone National Nutrition Survey 2021 (SNNS).
He said with the food insecurity in the country, malnutrition is still on the loose and highlighted some of the major effects of food insecurity, which may lead to maternal malnutrition and other diseases such as cancer, hypertension, and heart problems, amongst others.
In addition, he said maternal malnutrition is a serious problem that can lead to still and premature births.
He said that the first two years of a child’s development is very important, during which two thousand neurons per second are built in the child’s brain and after two years start to disintegrate”, with nutrition having a lot to do with that.
Speaking on some of the causes of food insecurity, the CMO said Urbanization has played a huge role, noting that the energetic youngsters who should be in the villages producing food are in the city engaged in other trades.
He added that COVID also contributed, explaining that whilst trying to contain the pandemic, people stopped farming activities which have contributed to food insecurity in the country and worldwide.
Dr.Kenneh recognized the government’s effort in putting systems in place but noted that still no gains have been made. He suggested that strategies be mapped out to tackle and improve things.
UNICEF’s Deputy Representative Ms. Liv Elin Indreiten said according to the latest comprehensive Food Security Vulnerability Assessment (CFSVA), in late 2020, the country has experienced deterioration in food security. She said 4.7 million people, which makes up for 57% of the country’s population are food insecure, citing this as “a worrying increase”.
Indreiten added that there is also a steady deterioration in the Food Consumption Score, noting that this is a clear indication that people are facing difficulties accessing food.
She mentioned that this is a cause for concern that could result in a potential increase of malnutrition burden, morbidity, and eventually mortality among children and other vulnerable people.
She spoke on the importance of the survey, stating that it can serve as a primary data source for any nutrition programme. She added that UNICEF supported the survey because of the absence of nutrition data on adolescent and school-aged children, noting that the exercise was timely.
Member of the Food Security and Nutrition Alliance Committee in Parliament, David Aiah Kassegbama said proper sensitization should be done, as people have not heard about this and should be told about nutrition and its importance.
The MP added that the sensitization cannot be done without funding and urged for more partners to come on board to help support the cause. He said if the country wants a better result in the next survey, proper sensitization should be done.
Assessments showed that in 2015 50% of the population was food insecure as compared to the 2010 statistics of 45%.
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