Join our community of SUBSCRIBERS and be part of the conversation.
To subscribe, simply enter your email address on our website or click the subscribe button below. Don't worry, we respect your privacy and won't spam your inbox. Your information is safe with us.
President Edgar Lungu has expressed worry at the levels of bureaucracy involved before releasing funds for some road projects by some ministries.
The concerns were brought to the fore when President Lungu inspected roads in Chililabombwe’s Kamenza Township where he wondered why some officers were still holding on to the money despite the release of funds being authorised.
The Head of State said it was difficult to explain certain levels of lack of development in some parts of the country because someone is delaying the release of funds.
He added that he will physically be pointing at those who are not doing the right thing to ensure that works on some road projects are expedited or kick-started.
“You can’t explain certain lack of development. You need to ensure that the roads are worked on,” he said.
The President, who cited the delays of works on the road leading to senior chief Chiwala through Zambezi Portland wondered why only appending a simple signature on paper to allow the private sector commence the works could take a very long time.
And Minister of Infrastructure Development, Vincent Mwale told the Head of State that K30 million has been released to commence works on the roads totaling 20 kilometres in Chililabombwe district.
Mr. Mwale said the 20 kilometres in Chililabombwe is part of the 80 kilometre road project to be undertaken in Ndola, Chililabombwe, Luanshya and Kalulushi under the Copperbelt 400 road project.
He said the Chilanga-Chiwala road has been partially done under the Poly-Technology road project adding that the remaining part will be attended to.
“Now that we have received some money, we are ready to start the project. The project is about 80 kilometres, 20 kilometres will start here in Chililabombwe,” Mr. Mwale said.
And Chililabombwe Member of Parliament, Richard Musukwa told the President that the area has already been mapped.
“We have mapped the areas and we think with the latest technology, we should be able to do it in this rain season,” Mr. Musukwa said.
Earlier, Copperbelt Province Patriotic Front (PF) chairman, Nathan Chanda expressed disappointment at the way some road projects have been handled in the province.
Mr. Chanda said the kind of bureaucracy exhibited shows no respect to the Head of State and has since called on the ministers responsible to do the right thing and ensure the pending road projects in the province start.
North-western Province Permanent Secretary, Willies Mangimela has praised the departments of forestry and lands in the province for exceeding their non-tax revenue collection targets for 2020 despite the advent of Covid-19.
The forestry department collected over K25 million, exceeding its target to raise K17 million while the lands department collected a total of K10.9 million against its target of K3.9 million last year.
Mr. Mangimela disclosed this in Solwezi today during the official hand over of four motor vehicles to the two departments.
The forestry department has received three motor vehicles comprising of one Toyota Hilux and two 4 x 4 Nissan Hard Body vehicles while the lands department has been given one Isuzu motor vehicle all valued at K2.6 million.
“These vehicles will be used for revenue generation and out of this hard work, government decided to encourage us by procuring us these brand new motor vehicles to increase on revenue generation to boost the treasury,” he said.
Mr. Mangimela has encouraged the two departments to double their efforts this year to generate more revenue for the government saying the new motor vehicles will enhance the mobility of officers.
He said the forestry department has been given a target to raise K22 million this year but said he would appreciate more if it raises about K50 million.
Mr .Mangimela has since urged the two departments to ensure the motor vehicles are used for the intended purpose and warned that punitive action will be taken against any officer found abusing the motor vehicles for personal gain.
“The motor vehicles should be specifically for revenue generation and not any other purposes,” he said.
He also urged the two departments to ensure that the new motor vehicles are insured in accordance with the law.
“All departments under provincial administration should insure their motor vehicles and if they don’t insure the motor vehicles, I will surcharge them,” he said.
And Principal Forestry Officer, Maxwell Phiri thanked government for buying three new motor vehicles for the department in the province saying they will greatly help in enhancing forest rules enforcement and revenue collection.
Mr. Phiri assured the Permanent Secretary that the motor vehicles will be used for the intended purpose to enforce compliance and increase revenue collection.
Meanwhile, Provincial Lands Officer, Chisha Nsunge also expressed gratitude to government for procuring a brand new motor vehicle for the department and pledged to ensure that the motor vehicle is not abused but used for the intended purpose.
Both patients and bed-siders at Ndola Teaching Hospital (NTH) have expressed concern over charges levied on them for every service they receive from the health institution.
A bed-sider, Clara Mumba told ZANIS that the institution is charging K100 for newly born babies, failure to which the mother will not be discharged and K200 for babies born with deformities whose mothers will also not be discharged until payment is made.
“We thought NTH was a government institution where we can at least be given free services and free medical attention,” she said.
Ms. Mumba alleged that sometimes, even after payment is made, the institution does not provide medicines but gives a prescription, a situation she said is not right.
And one of the patients talked to, Mwape Kasanda, suggested that government could get rid of the youth empowerment funds and channel the money to critical sectors of the economy such as health.
“If the money is used in health institutions, it would help reduce the number of deaths recorded therefore government should take this into consideration,” said Kasanda.
Meanwhile, Chisha Chisha, a mother who was waiting to be discharged from the maternity ward, said it was okay for government to charge for certain services but not maternity deliveries.
Ms. Chisha said this move will discourage many women from giving birth at health institutions.
She added that members of public run to government institutions to get free treatment because everyone there is treated equally but what is obtaining at the moment at NTH is disheartening.
She has since urged government and the relevant authorities to look into the matter before people resort to staying at home for fear of not affording medical fees when they fall ill.
Ndola Teaching Hospital Senior Medical superintendent Dr. Joseph Musowoya
And Ndola Teaching Hospital (NTH) Senior Medical Superintendent Joseph Musowoya refuted the allegations saying it is not all services at the institution that are paid for.
Dr. Musowoya noted that only services such as x-rays, lab samples, scans among others are paid for.
He said payments for certain services instill responsibility in the usage of drugs by patients and also contribute to revenue collection for day to day running of hospitals.
He has since appealed to members of the public to register under National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIMA) in order to ease payments at the institution.
The Medical for Quality Healthcare in Zambia (MQHZ) has called on the public to stop spreading wrong information about the new variant of the coronavirus, 501Y.V2, noting that rumours cause fear in people.
MQHZ Director General Quince Mwabu said there was no need for the citizens to tremble with fear as the health authorities in the country are able to advise on how to treat the new variant.
In a statement made available to the media in Ndola yesterday, Dr. Mwabu said it is important to emphasize on non-pharmaceutical interventions such as wearing face masks, using hand sanitisers and maintaining social distancing.
He added that these guidelines have worked effectively to curb the spread of COVID 19 and expressed confidence that they will also be able to work even this time around.
He has further urged the general public to continue following the COVID-19 protocols to avoid further spread of the virus in the country.
“I wish to appeal to the Ministry of Health to increase the number of COVID-19 testing centres because most of these succumbing to death get the diagnosis late,” he said.
Dr. Mwabu noted that the recent spike in cases is as a result of poor compliance levels among the people.
He said non-compliance to guidelines remains a key challenge to the fight against COVID-19.
“The increased cases call for a change of direction from everyone in response to the pandemic. Zambians had relaxed a lot and the country has reached a dangerous point,” he said.
Dr. Mwabu said there was need to embark on aggressive measures in communities to control the situation.
The physician added that measures should include sensitisation and continuous mass screening of people.
By Nalucha Nganga Ziba Country Direction, ActionAid Zambia
The revelations of the Public Accounts Committee hearing on the US$17 million drug supply scandal makes a sad hearing. Indeed, corruption and mismanagement of public resources (Taxpayers money) in our country has reached pervasive levels that affect the State’s ability to provide better public services such as education, healthcare, sanitation, and security.
It is clear that the purchase of defective medical supplies was a well-planned corrupt syndicate of the Ministry of Health, Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority, and Zambia Medical Stores. We, however, want to make exceptional chide for the Ministry of Health as a principal government agent in the transaction for not following most procurement procedures ardently due to suspected corruption in the transaction. It is disheartening to see that the government institution mandated to safeguard the life and health of Zambian people like the Ministry of health has continued making unpleasant headlines regarding misapplication and misappropriation of public resources in our country.
We are perplexed to understand that the Ministry of Health did not only over-look most procurement bidding process in awarding HoneyBee the contract but further went ahead through the Medical Stores Limited and sanctioned the distribution of defective medical supplies with the full knowledge of them being defective while Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority expeditiously and suspiciously issued the license to HoneyBee in days just to facilitate a corrupt deal.
The Honeybee Corrupt Medical Supply Scandal is a crime against humanity as the lives and safety of most Zambians have been put at serious risk at the expense of the flamboyant lifestyle of the few selfish individuals who have refused to live within their means. We wonder how many patients have been denied survival on their sickbed for using defective medical supplies. This could just one of the corrupt scandals happening in most public institutions.
As we have always stated, Corruption is not just a development issue but also a social issue as it aggravates inequality and injustice and undermines stability. Envisioning to safeguard the lives of every Zambia and attaining economic development with high corrupt levels is like attempting to fetch water using the basket and expecting it to be full.
We would, therefore, like to call on the President not to cast a blind eye and play a deaf ear on the ever-increasing mismanagement of public resources and corrupt incidences in the country by ensuring perpetrators of financial crimes regardless of their social status and political affiliation are prosecuted.
The ministry of Health over the years has continued to make handlines in scandalous mismanagement of public resources and corruptions issues and we are therefore calling on the president to act and drop the Minister of Health and his two Permanent secretaries for presiding over corrupt transactions which does not only risk the lives of Zambians but impede donor/bilateral confidence. In the same vein, we are calling on the Donor community to take a keen interest in the happenings at the Ministry of Health as they are also important stakeholders.
We would like to further reiterate the call from many stakeholders to have the procurement mandate withdrawn from the Ministry of Health by the Zambia Public Procurement Authority with immediate effect until the ministry puts its house in order. The Law Enforcement Agents like the Anti-Corruption Commission must also prove their relevance to this country especially in this case with overwhelming evidence of corruption in all transactions. It is our sincere hope that with yesterday’s PAC hearing revelations, Justice will prevail for the Zambian people and that the case will not die a natural death like many other cases.
Zambia thumped hosts Cameroon 2-0 at the Four-nation pre-CHAN tournament in Yaoundé, Cameroon on Thursday evening.
A goal each from attacker Collins Sikombe and defender Zachariah Chilongoshi helped Zambia to finish second at the competition won by Uganda.
Sikombe opened the scoring three minutes after the break to net his third goal of the competition.
Chilongoshi put the lead beyond Cameroon’s reach in the 59th minute as Zambia recovered from Monday’s 2-0 loss to Uganda.
Meanwhile, Zambia have finished second at the tournament with four points, three behind champions Uganda.
Niger emerged third with four points and hosts Cameroon finished at the foot with a point.
Coach Micho started with Lameck Siame in goal while the defence was manned by Clement Mwape, Adrian Chama, Benedict Chepeshi and Zachariah Chilongoshi.
Paul Katema was deployed in the midfield alongside Benson Sakala and Kelvin Kapumbu with the attackers being Collins Sikombe, Moses Phiri and Emmanuel Chabula.
President Edgar Lungu has disclosed that Zambians have the capacity to run the country’s mining industry in an effective and efficient manner that can even grow the sector.
Speaking when he addressed Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) workers at the mine plant in Chililabombwe today, Mr. Lungu expressed happiness that the mine had increased production while under liquidation.
The President said the fact that KCM had recorded growth while in liquidation entails that Zambians have the capacity and skills to run the mining sector.
“We are proud of the way the mine has been run efficiently and effectively. It shows that we have the capacity and skills to run the mines,” he said.
Mr. Lungu further said it was government’s desire to see a number of mines run by indigenous people unlike the prevailing situation where all the mines are foreign owned.
He observed that the mining sector has a lot of indigenous people that are highly skilled to positively contribute to the development of the industry.
The Head of State has since called on the mine management and the trade union movement to work together with government to ensure the sector is further developed.
And Mines Minister Richard Musukwa said President Lungu and his administration have the interest of the workers at heart hence the resolve to ensure that they are protected.
Mr. Musukwa, who is also Chililabombwe Member of Parliament, said government would continue to ensure that the interests of the miners are protected.
Meanwhile, Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) president Joseph Chewe thanked the government for standing with KCM miners when the mining firm was going through turbulent times and uncertainty that led to its liquidation.
Mr. Chewe pledged the miners’ support to the Patriotic Front (PF) administration as it had taken interest in the welfare of the workers at the hands of Vedanta Resources, the Indian owned mining giant that owned KCM.
And KCM employees’ representative, a Mr. Lubasha, said the workers are happy with the manner the mines have been run by the provisional liquidator who has managed to pay redundancy packages to the affected miners.
Mr. Lubasha said the uncertainty and worries that gripped the mining community following the liquidation of KCM are a thing of the past now.
“Today we can walk with our heads high because the demon that was associated with the word liquidation has been exorcised. Any mention of the word liquidation sent shivers in our bones but now we can mention it freely,” he said.
Central Province Minister Sydney Mushanga has with immediate effect directed all local authorities in the region to consider cancelling all events that attract more than 50 people following the escalation in the number of COVID-19 positive cases.
Mr. Mushanga said it is regrettable that people in the province have continued to ignore Statutory Instruments 21 and 22 which have been put in place to help fight the spread of COVID -19.
Mr. Mushanga was speaking in Kabwe today when he officially opened a virtual Provincial Epidemic Preparedness meeting on COVID-19.
“I am also directing health as well as local authorities in the province to ensure marketeers and vendors adhere to COVID-19 health guidelines of masking up, social distancing and handwashing among others if the coronavirus was to be controlled,” he stated.
He has further directed public transport operators to ensure all their passengers were masked up before boarding their buses and taxis.
Mr. Mushanga described the second wave of COVID-19 in Kabwe as serious, further urging relevant authorities to also mount check-points where people coming into and out of the province were masked up.
The Provincial Minister added that transporters carrying unmasked travelers should not be allowed to proceed to their destinations.
And Mr. Mushanga has called on the officers at the provincial administration to take advantage of the screening exercise and ensure that they get tested for COVID-19.
“The offices at provincial administration would also be fumigated soon,” he said.
Speaking during the same meeting, Central Province Public Health Specialist Isaac Banda equally bemoaned the public’s poor compliance to health measures put in place by the government.
“The Provincial Health Office is equally having a challenge of contact tracing as some people that tested positive were denying the results and were not willing to share their residential addresses for ease contact tracing.
He said so far all districts in the province except Ngabwe were affected by the COVID-19 with an increased number of critically ill patients found at various health facilities.
Central province is trailing behind Lusaka in terms of increasing COVID-19 cases with Kabwe district in the province recording 153 cases in the last 24 hours.
The Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) says the recent split of Konkola Copper Mines into two entities will boost production and increase efficiency in the company.
MUZ president Joseph Chewe in an interview yesterday, said the development will further stimulate creation of more jobs in the sector thereby boost government’s revenue through various taxes.
“The split will result in more production, job opportunities and more business linkages and the community will benefit more,” Mr. Chewe said.
And Mr. Chewe clarified that no worker will be laid-off in the process adding that all workers will be paid their benefits adding that the benefits will paid in three instalments due to the poor performance of the mine.
He said the priority now is to redeem the company from collapsing hence the decision to pay the miners in three instalments so that they do not lose out completely.
“ As you may know the mine has been in the intensive care unit, Vedanda left the company with a huge debt of about 2.3 billion US Dollars, so the company has no money, what is needed now is to remove this company from ICU and bring it to life and if we wait for the liquidation process to be concluded in court, the loser will be the worker,” Mr Chewe said.
Citing the plight of former workers of RAMCOZ in Luanshya who are still unpaid since the mine was liquidated over ten years ago , the MUZ president further noted that this was the only liquidation process in Zambia where workers will be paid.
Mr. Chewe urged the workers to accept the payment of their benefits in three instalments as the company still has to be saved from total collapse.
But Lusaka based Economist Maambo Hamaundu said the splitting of the mine should have waited for the conclusion of the court case between Vedanta Resources and ZCCM-IH to avoid possible litigation that may arise as a result of the action taken while the case is still active in court.
“It would have been better to wait for the conclusion of the court case so that we do not have a repeat of what we had on Lap-Green ( now Zamtel) where we had to pay heavily as a country when the sale of the company was overturned,” Mr. Hamaundu noted in an interview.
The Konkola Copper Mine Liquidator Milingo Lungu has split the mine into two entities that will operate separately from each other.
Foreign diplomats in Zambia representing countries such as Britain and the USA itself international community have been called upon to condemn the acts of terrorists who threatening the peaceful transfer of power in USA.
The Zambian Institute of Governance and Civil Liberties Platform (ZIGGLAP) said it is deeply troubled with political happenings in the United States which have been sponsored by the US administration under President Trump.
“The current regime has sponsored local terrorists who besieged the US Capitol where Senators were having a constitutional session on the election of President-Elect Biden,” said ZIGGLAP Chief Executive Officer Francis Chipili.
Mr. Chipili said ZIGGLAP is concerned that some foreign diplomats in Zambia representing countries such as Britain and the USA itself international community have been dead silent on these happenings in the USA.
“These are the same diplomats who have been taking a leading role in condemning recent happenings in Zambia where two people were shot dead. These countries have also been supporting elements in Zambia who are sowing seeds of discord ahead of Zambia’s 2021 elections as part of the democratic process,” said Chipili.
ZIGGLAP has since ask Zambians to avoid taking the path being witnessed in the USA where politicians are sacrificing citizens at the altar of political expedience when these politicians lose an election.
“We urge Zambian parents to not allow their children and youth to be used. Don’t sacrifice your children,” said Mr. Chipili.
He asked Zambians to be wary of some clergy such as Archibishop Mpundu and civil society organiusations who are mobilising them for such similar actions which contribute to breakdown of law and order as well as loss of life as has happened in America.
Mr. Chipili reiterated the message by Zambia’s President that no politician, including himself, is worth dying for.
The 2020/2021 FAZ Super Division season resumes this Friday after a fortnight break when Zanaco visit Kabwe Warriors in a Midlands derby at Godfrey ‘Ucar’ Chitalu Stadium in Kabwe.
Zanaco head into the game at number three on 18 points from twelve games played.
Victory on January 8 will see Zanaco take a one point lead for at least 24 hours, relegating Prison Leopards to second spot.
Prison will only be back in action this Sunday away in Lusaka against Napsa Stars.
But The Bankers head to Kabwe without prominent strikers Moses Phiri and Roger Kola who are away in Cameroon on CHAN 2021 duty with Chipolopolo.
The leagues current leading scorer Phiri has 8 goals while Kola has five goals this season.
Zanaco also return to action seeking to bounce back from a 2-1 away loss at fifth positioned Power Dynamos on December 27.
Meanwhile, Warriors return to action on the back of a six-match unbeaten run in which period they have gathered three wins and as many draws.
Interestingly, Warriors are just three points behind Zanaco despite their number eight placing and a home win will potentially move them fourth place but with an inferior goal difference to their guests.
Warriors also trace their last Midlands derby loss at Ucar to Sepetmber2018 when they lost 1-0 but have since them won two home games.
Nkana coach Kelvin Kaindu admits they still have challenges to overcome heading into Friday’s draws in the CAF Confederation Cup.
Nkana, who were relegated to the CAF Confederation Cup after a 2-1 aggregate CAF Champions League pre-group stage loss to Petro Atletico of Angola, will know their last 32 opponents when the draws are made in Cairo on January 8.
No Zambian club will go into the CAF Champions League group stage draws after Nkana followed Forest Rangers out following the latter’s preliminary round exit in December.
“I think everyone wanted us to stay in the Champions League and progress to the group stage but it is just unfortunate that we have lost,” Kaindu said.
“Now, coming to the CAF Confederation Cup, it is not also easy and I think you also have to prepare well, look at the teams that are there and look at the teams from the Champions League.
“The Confederation Cup is also never easy, what we have probably learnt is lets us learn to try and use maximum advantage when we are playing at home- and probably get a victory playing at home.”
UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema has been blocked from flying out of Lusaka to the Copperbelt where he was scheduled to attend the funeral of Copperbelt Youth Chairman Bwalya Manenga.
Mr Hichilema was stopped from boarding at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport mid morning by state security officials.
They informed Mr Hichilema that they could not allow him to fly into the Copperbelt apparently because President Edgar Lungu was also present in the province.
The UPND leader was forced to address the mourners gathered for a church service via the Zoom platform.
Mr Hichilema confirmed that him and his team were told that they cannot land at any of the public airports or private airstrips on the Copperbelt.
He said his team had prior clearance way before today but suddenly they were stopped.
“I’ve been blocked from flying out of Lusaka to the Copperbelt where we were scheduled to put to rest our provincial Youth Chairman, Bwalya Manenga. This is uncalled for! The corrupt PF regime and its dictator will soon be out of office,” Mr Hichilema said.
“This is uncalled for but fellow Zambians when you see such just know that its time for change and together we must democratically remove the corrupt PF regime and its dictator,” he said.
Congress has affirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory over President Trump.
The counting of Vermont’s three electoral votes put Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris over the 270-threshold needed to win the presidency.
The Senate and House rejected objections to throw out Georgia and Pennsylvania’s electoral votes for Biden. Republicans also objected to Arizona, Nevada and Michigan’s electoral votes, but the motions failed before they reached debate.
“The announcement of the state of the vote by the President of the Senate shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons elected President and Vice President of the United States, each for the term beginning on the 20th day of January 2021 and shall be entered together with the list of the votes on the journals of the Senate and the House of Representatives,” Pence said following the count of all of the state’s Electoral College votes.
The certification comes after pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol earlier Wednesday. WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 06: A pro-Trump mob breaks into the U.S. Capitol on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. Congress held a joint session today to ratify President-elect Joe Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. A group of Republican senators said they would reject the Electoral College votes of several states unless Congress appointed a commission to audit the election results. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Four people are dead, including one woman who was shot after supporters of President Donald Trump breached one of the most iconic American buildings, engulfing the nation’s capital in chaos after Trump urged his supporters to fight against the ceremonial counting of the electoral votes that will confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s win.
Shortly after 1 p.m. ET Wednesday hundreds of pro-Trump protesters pushed through barriers set up along the perimeter of the Capitol, where they tussled with officers in full riot gear, some calling the officers “traitors” for doing their jobs. About 90 minutes later, police said demonstrators got into the building and the doors to the House and Senate were being locked. Shortly after, the House floor was evacuated by police. Vice President Mike Pence was also evacuated from the chamber, where he was to perform his role in the counting of electoral votes.
An armed standoff took place at the House front door at about 3 p.m. ET, and police officers had their guns drawn at someone who was trying to breach it. A Trump supporter was also pictured standing at the Senate dais earlier in the afternoon.
A woman died after being shot in the chest on the Capitol grounds, DC police confirmed to CNN. DC Police Chief Robert Contee said three other people died from medical emergencies during the riot.
Multiple officers have been injured with at least one transported to the hospital, multiple sources tell CNN.
Smoke grenades were used on the Senate side of the Capitol, as police worked to clear the building of rioters. Windows on the west side of the Senate were broken, and hundreds of officers amassed on the first floor of the building.
The Senate floor was cleared of rioters as of 3:30 p.m. ET, and an officer told CNN that they successfully squeezed them away from the Senate wing of the building and toward the Rotunda. The protesters were removed through the east and west doors of the Capitol. At least 52 people were arrested as of 9:30 p.m. ET Wednesday in Washington.
The US Capitol Police worked to secure the second floor of the Capitol first, and were seen just before 5 p.m. ET pushing demonstrators off the steps on the east side of the building. With about 30 minutes to go before Washington’s 6 p.m. ET curfew, Washington police amassed in a long line to push the mob back from the Capitol grounds.
It took until roughly 5:40 p.m. ET for the building to once again be secured, according to the sergeant-at-arms.
The stunning display of insurrection was the first time the US Capitol had been overrun since the British attacked and burned the building in August of 1814, during the War of 1812, according to Samuel Holliday, director of scholarship and operations with the US Capitol Historical Society.
The shocking scene was met with less police force than many of the Black Lives Matter protests that rolled across the country in the wake of George Floyd’s killing at the hands of Minneapolis police officers last year. While federal police attacked peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square outside the White House over the summer, clearing the way for Trump to take a photo in front of a nearby church at the time, protesters on Wednesday were able to overrun Capitol police and infiltrate the country’s legislative chambers.
Supporters of President Donald Trump are confronted by Capitol Police officers outside the Senate Chamber inside the Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest inside the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. – Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the a 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP) (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)Protesters gesture to U.S. Capitol Police in the hallway outside of the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, near the Ohio Clock. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)TOPSHOT – A supporter of US President Donald Trump sits inside the office of US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as he protest inside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, January 6, 2021. – Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the a 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. As Congress prepares to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, thousands of people have gathered to show their support for President Donald Trump and his claims of election fraud. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 06: A pro-Trump mob breaks into the U.S. Capitol on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. Congress held a joint session today to ratify President-elect Joe Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. A group of Republican senators said they would reject the Electoral College votes of several states unless Congress appointed a commission to audit the election results. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
World Vision Nutrition Coordinator Ignatius Kaunda in Lundazi Town, Eastern province, has expressed concern on the growing number of fatal malnutrition cases among under-fives in the area.
Mr. Kaunda said his organization was concerned that due to food insecurity in the area, many parents and guardians were unable to feed their families especially under-fives, adequately.
He said as a result, the Town recorded four deaths of malnutrition cases in under five-year-old children out of the 515 severe acute and moderate malnutrition cases in the last quarter of 2020.
ZANIS reports that Mr Kaunda has advised parents and guardians in the area to improve on their household food insecurity and feeding practices for malnutrition cases to reduce in the district.
“To reduce these cases parents must learn good feeding practices because undernutrition puts children at great risks of dying from common diseases such as diarrhea,” he said.
He noted that through growth monitoring, signs of malnutrition could be detected early in children, thereby providing therapeutic interventions that help reduce the number of severe cases of malnutrition in the district.
“Malnourished children with severe acute malnutrition have a high risk of death, this is why World Vision in partnership with the Ministry of Health is implementing a child growth program,” he said.
According to Lundazi District Scaling up Malnutrition (SUN) Chairperson Mukule Banda poor nutrition among children due to lack of knowledge of eating a balanced diet remains the major cause of acute malnutrition in under-five children in the district.
Mr Banda stated that most families remain food insecure because they decide to sell all their high-value crops.
“Most households are food insecure because they have the tendency of selling all their high-value crops such as groundnuts and soya beans that can add nutritional value to their food,” he said.
He also cited the practice of parents introducing children to solid foods too early as another contributor to malnutrition in Lundazi.
“Another contributing factor for malnourished under-five children is that mothers introduce their babies to complementary solid foods before two months,” he said.
He has since urged parents to ensure they leave enough high-value food for consumption and be able to buy diverse food to reduce high malnutrition at house hold level.
Mr Banda observed that the challenge of malnutrition in the district requires coordinated and concerted efforts from stakeholders.
“As a district we have District Nutrition Coordinating Committee (DNCC) with key line ministries that deals with nutrition all this is to approach the problem of malnutrition in a multi-sectoral manner,” he said.
