Majority of the country’s new born children are stunted in growth due to poor nutrition in their first 1,000 days of life.
This is according to Abdnasir Gona, one nutritionist in Garrisa County, who said that poor nutrition to the children would expose a child to risks of getting diseases.
Gona said that a child affected from malnutrition would be mentally retarded hence poor performance in school.
“The county’s health in Garrisa indicators show that the County’s mortality rate is twice that of the country.
“Malnutrition is the underlying cause of high infant and child morbidity and mortality rates,“ said Gona.
He added that children who are under five years in the county are underweight and have stunted growth.
Gona further noted that lack of some minerals in the body exposes such children to diseases like Anemia, blindness, mental retardants and several other diseases.
He urged mothers to keep breastfeeding their newborns for first six months, saying milk was important as it possesses all the nutrients an infant required.