Corruption accelerates malnutrition

In fact, she says, Government hospitals and clinics, as well as Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM) hospitals, now have more than enough stocks of food supplements because of this funding.

She says that the food stocks at hospitals don't run out because there's a constant supply - it mostly comes from the hospitals' main donor, UNICEF.

But despite all this support, some children still don't have access to nutritious foods.

After WFP and UNICEF conducted a survey in 2003 to assess the impact of malnutrition in the country, WFP injected $1.406, which translates to K202.4 million while. UNICEF pumped K112 million into the ambitious programme.

However, some of donors suspect that not all food supplies benefit the intended beneficiaries.

The food distribution exercise is rocked with serious anomalies that frustrate efforts to ensure that malnourished children have access to the food items.

Abigail Bakali lives at Likuni Township. She says she fears for the lives of her malnourished, nine-month-old twins. She says she finds it tough to get the food supplements at Likuni Health Centre.

“If I'm lucky, they give me one type of the food items,” she says.

Officials at WFP and UNICEF say they are concerned that children are going hungry because the distribution system is fouled up.

WFP and UNICEF officials agree. They say that some of the donated food ends up in the hands of people who aren't at all hungry. They say the distributors of the food are irresponsible and there's poor accountability - and that much of the food simply vanishes.
Lazarous Gonani is a WFP programme. He cites a case in which a judge ordered sent some officials to jail for stealing supplementary food stuffs in Thyolo and Machinga Districts

“There are a number of cases of theft in Health Centres,” Gonani said, “but most of them go un reported as officials opt for out-o- court settlements, in fear of destroying the image of the clinics.

He also said there is also a growing tendency among those who oversee food distribution to exaggerate the number of beneficiaries.

“This tendency hampers our efforts to reach out to as many needy children as possible,” he said.

Stanley Chitekwe is a UNICEF project officer. He says that clinics which are supported by UNICEF fail to account for the food supplies the organization gives them and that they don't submit their monthly reports.

“Only thirty out of 95 clinics have, so far, submitted the reports,” he said. “This brings suspicion.”

Gonani and Chitekwe agree that officials in health centres are not sufficiently transparent or accountable in the manner in which they handle food supplies.

Minister of Health and Population Minister Majorie Ngaunje says that the Malawi government's policy on nutrition is to ensure that malnourished children, the elderly and patients on ARV therapy have access to nutritious foods.

She said that this is why her ministry works in collaboration with donors in mobilizing resources to ensure successful implementation of the program.

The minister said supplementary food stuffs are crucial in that they boost immunity in people on ARV therapy and that they prolonging their lives.

Nutrition is a very important component she says,not only for nutrition and rehabilitation programme, but also for ARV therapy.

“Putting patients on ARV therapy will be meaningless if the patients have no access to nutritious foods,” Nguanje said.

Malnutrition is a big threat to the health of children because it causes stunted growth, a retarded brain and abnormality, and it shortens the victims' life span.
By Ed-Grant Ndoza
James Matimati is too young to appreciate his mother's struggle to provide for her family - he's only three.

Because of the rampant corruption that finds its way down to her poor neighborhood, his mother, Ellen Matitami, is already paying more than her fair share for necessities - necessities such as water, healthcare and even basic medicines. When James is a little older, his mother will have to pay to enroll him in what's supposed to be a completely free public school.

However, because of corruption, she's going to have to supplement that “free” education. At least she shouldn't have to worry about his nutrition - the Supplementary Feeding Program has enough funding and enough food on hand, officials say, to ensure that no child in Malawi goes hungry.

Then why is James suffering from malnutrition?

Medical professionals say he's stunted and he's weak. His face, legs and arms are swollen. His hair is withered and his stomach is protruding.

Diagnosis, malnutrition.

That's what happens, they say, when you feed an infant on a diet of only porridge made from maize.

Matimati's case is just a tip of the iceberg. There are hundreds and hundreds of children who are severely hit by malnutrition at this area.

Their mothers who queue at the Health Centre to seek assistance told the Malawi Observer that all that their children receive the clinic are tablets of Bactrim and vitamin which they say are sufficient to ensure health of the babies without nutritious food.

These parents, however, are struggling to find supplementary food at a time when the government, in total collaboration with World Food Program (WFP) and UNICEF, is implementing a supplementary feeding program in government hospitals and health centres to provide food supplements to children under five, the elderly and patients on ARV therapy.


Despite claims by the government and international organizations that they are distributing the abundant supplies throughout the country, the vital supplements are not making it to James or to thousands of other hungry children.

Someone is stealing it, officials say. In fact, a lot of “someones” are stealing it.

World Food Program (WFP) and UNICEF have teamed up with the Malawi government to implement the Supplementary Feeding Program. They have injected more that a million Kwacha into the program.

“We have enough supplies of likuni phala, peanut butter and vegetable oil,” Agnes Malamula says. She's the Sister In-Charge of the Nutrition and Rehabilitation Unit (NRU) at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital.

In fact, she says, Government hospitals and clinics, as well as Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM) hospitals, now have more than enough stocks of food supplements because of this funding.

She says that the food stocks at hospitals don't run out because there's a constant supply - it mostly comes from the hospitals' main donor, UNICEF.

But despite all this support, some children still don't have access to nutritious foods.

After WFP and UNICEF conducted a survey in 2003 to assess the impact of malnutrition in the country, WFP injected $1.406, which translates to K202.4 million while. UNICEF pumped K112 million into the ambitious programme.

However, some of donors suspect that not all food supplies benefit the intended beneficiaries.

The food distribution exercise is rocked with serious anomalies that frustrate efforts to ensure that malnourished children have access to the food items.

Abigail Bakali lives at Likuni Township. She says she fears for the lives of her malnourished, nine-month-old twins. She says she finds it tough to get the food supplements at Likuni Health Centre.

“If I'm lucky, they give me one type of the food items,” she says.

Officials at WFP and UNICEF say they are concerned that children are going hungry because the distribution system is fouled up.

WFP and UNICEF officials agree. They say that some of the donated food ends up in the hands of people who aren't at all hungry. They say the distributors of the food are irresponsible and there's poor accountability - and that much of the food simply vanishes.