Status of Children in Tanzania - 2012 - Tanzania Education Network ...

Call for Action
Table 8: Indicators on nutritional status
Indicator definition Status 2004/05 Status 2009/10
Proportion of under-fives moderately
38% 42.3%
underweight (weight for age)
Proportion of under-fives severely underweight
13% 16.6%
(weight for age)
Proportion of under-fives moderately stunted
3% 4.6%
(height for age)
Proportion of under-fives severely stunted (height
for age)
< 1% 1.1%
TDHS 2006 demonstrate that urban children enjoy better nutrition than rural areas. Statistically 26%
of urban children under-five years of age are stunted as compared to 41% of rural children. NBS
and Macro International 2006 revealed that nutrition rates are worst among the poor 50% of
children in the poorest 40% of household who are stunted compared to 23% of children from the
least poor 20% of households.
The rates of malnutrition in Tanzania vary widely across different geographical areas like Lindi,
Mtwara, Ruvuma, Rukwa, Kigoma, Iringa, Dodoma and Tanga the regions recorded 40% stunting
children under five years. In those regions there has been insignificant nutrition improvement. The
pattern of malnutrition distribution in Tanzania indicates that areas of the country which are the
source of cereal surpluses e.g. in the South and West of Tanzania are also areas of high rates of
malnutrition. Food security therefore in the sense of cereal crop production does not seem to be
associated with nutrition security. In some of the districts like Hai in Kilimanjaro and Serengeti in
Mara are districts which children were severely malnourished and special programme on nutrition
had to be launched. That strategy involved identifying children who are in need of rehabilitation and
support. There is a link between poor school achievement, repetition of grades and dropouts. It was
revealed by respondents that lack of nutrition e.g. vitamin A, iodine, salt limit the leaner not to be
active in learning and thinking. Poverty lowers nutrition and children cannot get proper feeding
frequently per day. Experience from Mtwara, Singida, Lindi, Mara, Kigoma, Dodoma, Manyara and
Iringa indicates that under-two children do not get standard feeding of 8 times a day.
This challenge makes them to be deprived protein, energy, vitamins and iodine which are important
for brain and cognitive growth and development. In Kilimanjaro, Manyara, Iringa and Mbeya there is
low breast feeding of children as lactating mother are fully involved in farming activities. Thus
infants being left to sibling who do not know proper care of the young ones and feeding practice.
Thus frequent feeding is very poor and low education on nutrition in the mentioned regions.
In deed nutrition status of children at areas like Lindi, Mtwara, Iringa, Dodoma, Singida, Shinyanga
and Mbeya are critical and need intervention as a right for children. There is a need to give more
technical information on nutrition issues as an intervention on its own right as well as improving
childcare and encouraging more frequent feeding of children either through adults in the family,
neighbours or establishing childhood development centres, where all rights of children for survival
and growth will be observed. Arguably there is a need to have special programmes to ensure that
children get enough and balanced nutrition in areas like Iramba, Mtwara, Lindi and Dodoma
4.2.11 Food security and children rights
Tanzania is one of the poorest country in the world, ranking 151 st in the human development. Index
score of 0.53 as per capital income of USD 1,300 and 90% of the population living in less than a
dollar a day. The food security situation in Tanzania varies from one region to another and from
season to another. There are some perennial pockets of food shortages particularly; Coast region,
Lindi, Mtwara, Tanga, Dodoma, Singida, Mara, Kigoma and some areas of Morogoro region. The
periodic production increase for some regions is not stable and cannot be relied upon.
Current food situation in Tanzania indicates that some regions are highly food insecure. In these
regions some families have serious problem and are food insecure. In 2010/2011 Arusha, Manyara,
Dodoma, Kilimanjaro, Morogoro, Mtwara, Coast, Shinyanga, and Tanga had some serious
problems. Food insecure people were 717,684. (Kindly see Figure 13 which follows).
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