‘Over-weight, under-weight, nutrient-deficient’

. . . Basotho battle triple nutrition scourge

THATO RAMAFU

Maseru – Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Temeki Ts’olo, today officially launched the Fill the Nutrient Gap Lesotho Report at a local hotel.

Ts’olo described the event as yet another milestone in the quest to understand why the Basotho nation lives with the triple burden of being over-weight, under-weight and micro-nutrient deficient.

He added the analysis makes it clear where we go wrong as individual households, communities, the government and all stakeholders.

“Now that the gaps are clearly identified, national food and nutrition related policies must be drawn based on results found in the analysis for us to achieve good nutrition for all.

“Like I said last week when UN presented electronic equipment, we can achieve sustainable development goal number 2 (zero hunger) way before the year 2030 since we have all the research in the form of documents that have been launched over the past four years and the fill the nutrient gap analysis which clearly outlines what was done wrong previously. This study must make a major part of all sectoral nutrition plans and policies,” Ts’olo said.

On behalf of UN Lesotho, resident co-ordinator, Mr. Salvator Niyonzima said Lesotho has made progress in improving nutrition outcomes.

All these efforts, he said, seek to enable the government of Lesotho, the UN and all partners to work more efficiently to deliver nutrition actions on scale and to achieve SDG’s while putting nutrition as both a marker and maker of development.