By: Carlos Filimone and Américo Humulane
On October 17, 2022, Mozambique officially launched the Nutrition Education Program designating “Crescer Bem”, which aims to raise awareness and mobilize Mozambican society, especially pregnant women, mothers and caregivers, with emphasis on women living in the rural areas, on the need to avoid chronic malnutrition.
This five-year nutritional education program is a program of the Office of the First Lady of the Republic of Mozambique, aims to train around 2.5 million women in rural areas of the country, and is expected to benefit around 5 million children.
Despite the advances made in Mozambique in the last five years, in terms of chronic malnutrition, with reduction in the national average of five percentage points (from 43% to 38%), in children under five, the Mozambican Government remains concerned about the registration of children with chronic malnutrition and the consequences that this problem brings to the country's economy.
In this context, this program proves to be of great importance for the alleviation of chronic malnutrition in children in the country, if one takes into account that chronic malnutrition remains high and, the country must find adequate and sustainable platforms for its rapid eradication. The future of Mozambique is based on children, which demands that the country do everything in its power so that all children can grow up healthy.
Filimone is a Researcher and Head of Technology Transfer, and Humulane is Socioeconomic Researcher & Executive Secretary. Both authors are CCARDESA ICKM Focal point persons for Mozambique.
