Migori health workers taking supplements to ECDE children amid low hospital turnout

Migori Referral Hospital nutritionist Steve Oyugi said less than 50 per cent of the children aged below six years have gotten the vitamin A supplement in Migori County.

Oyugi said they have tried to reach out to parents with children within the aforementioned age group but some have not been able to avail their children in health facilities. 

He said the hospital is currently working closely with teachers across all Early Childhood Education (ECDE) centres in Migori County to give out vitamin A supplements.

The county nutritionist said many children suffering from vitamin A deficiency are having problems with their sight.

The recent report dubbed Identifying and Understanding barriers to optimal complementary feeding in Kenya revealed that six out of ten children in Kenya aged between 23 months and six years are suffering from Vitamin A deficiency that has been associated with a number of conditions like blindness.

Currently, various non-governmental organizations including World Food Programme(WFP) are promoting orange flesh potato in Migori county to help deal with high cases of vitamin A deficiency in the county. Orange flesh potato is rich in vitamin A.