Dr Gabriel Kanuti Ndimbo

Tanzania | A food-secure and healthy society is indispensable to successful long-term economic development. Yet, food insecurity and malnutrition remain serious global public health concerns, with developing countries, particularly sub-Saharan African countries, recording the highest percentage of food-insecure populations and children under five years of age with malnutrition. It is estimated that approximately 298.4 million people out of 733 global food-insecure populations may have faced hunger in Africa in 2023, representing 20.4% of the global food-insecure population, and that the situation is still worsening. This means that 1 out of 5 people in Africa is food insecure. Malnutrition among children under five years of age also remains high.

Tanzania is no exception to these global public health concerns. In 2021, 31.8% of children under five years suffered from chronic malnutrition, indicating that nearly one-third of children under five were stunted, wasted, and had micronutrient deficiencies. Six regions of Mainland Tanzania have a stunting rate of more than 40%: Njombe (53.6%), Rukwa (47.9%), Iringa (47.1%), Songwe (43.3%), Kigoma (42.3%), and Ruvuma (41.0%). Surprisingly, five of six regions with the highest stunting rate are in the main agroecological zones (the Southern Highlands of Tanzania) that produce the highest quantity of food crops, feeding the entire country.

There are limited empirical studies on the causes and severity of malnutrition in children in areas highly prone to malnutrition. These could help provide policy recommendations and targeted interventions. Notably, some causes and effects of children's malnutrition are addressed using general solutions without considering context-specific causes and interventions. Dr Ndimbo's research aims to address this gap and contribute to eliminating food insecurity and malnutrition among children by investigating socio-cultural, behavioural, and economic factors that lead to food insecurity and malnutrition in the Njombe region. Ultimately, the project will develop more targeted and context-specific interventions to address food insecurity and malnutrition among children. To successfully and effectively implement his project, Dr Ndimbo will ensure the engagement of various stakeholders. Food insecurity and malnutrition are complex issues that need the engagement of a diverse range of stakeholders to ensure that the research is contextually relevant, ethically sound, and geared toward actionable outcomes.

Health and nutritional officers at the regional, district, and local government levels will assist in developing data collection tools, acquiring necessary equipment for data collection, collecting health and nutritional data, and providing technical expertise. Dr Ndimbo will collaborate with these stakeholders from the planning phase to ensure data collection aligns with existing health programs. These stakeholders will also form part of the dissemination phase, where they will assist in organising regular training and capacity-building sessions at the village level. Besides, these stakeholders will serve as key informants, and hence their insights will be incorporated into the analysis of the findings.

Local community members are the primary beneficiaries and sources of qualitative data, collected through interviews, focus groups, and observations, as well as quantitative data gathered through structured questionnaires. After collecting the findings, Dr Ndimbo will disseminate the results to the local community through various approaches, including awareness campaigns, outreach programs, radio sessions, village meetings, and leaflets. These initiatives will help promote awareness and behavioural change on food insecurity and children's malnutrition issues. The participation of the local community from the initial stage to the dissemination stage is crucial to ensure that the research process is carried out in a manner that does not contradict societal norms and values.

The study will be conducted in the Njombe region. Dr Ndimbo will first approach health service providers and nutritional officers at the regional and district levels to obtain information concerning the status of children's malnutrition. Hereafter, the study sites will be selected based on the severity of malnutrition among children. In the study sites, purposive and snowball sampling techniques will be employed to select 1,000 respondents for structured questionnaires. These questionnaires will be administered to households with children under five years old to understand the types of crops they grow, the types and varieties of food they consume, and the frequency of food consumption. The questionnaire will also investigate the length of breastfeeding among children with malnutrition. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with women who have children under five years old (both those with and without malnutrition) to understand their understanding of malnutrition, its causes and effects, and how to prevent or address the problem.

The study aims to compile a comprehensive dataset on the child health and nutrition status in the Njombe region, based on surveys that detail Body Mass Index, dietary patterns, adherence to the food pyramid, and other health indices of at least 1,000 children under five. This dataset will provide quantitative analysis reports presenting prevalence, severity, malnutrition and food insecurity patterns. This will improve knowledge of the socio-cultural, economic, and behavioural factors influencing malnutrition in Njombe. The findings will also help to draw insights into why high food production does not necessarily translate into nutritional adequacy. The findings obtained from this study will help to enhance evidence-based policy formulation and context-specific intervention strategies to address identified causes of malnutrition. The findings will also help develop more targeted, culturally sensitive interventions considering local food systems, practices, and beliefs.

Gabriel Kanuti Ndimbo is a lecturer in the Department of History, Political Science, and Development Studies at Mkwawa University College of Education in Tanzania. He holds a PhD in Development Studies and a master's in Rural Development and Management from China Agricultural University, China. His areas of research interest include critical agrarian studies, food security and food sovereignty, agroecology and sustainable food systems, information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D), and rural development. Gabriel's current research project focuses on food insecurity and the severity of malnutrition in children in Tanzania's agroecological zones, drawing on insights from the Njombe region. He has published more than 10 articles in high-impact journals. Gabriel also won the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa's fellowship for young professionals.