Erasmus Shalihaxwe
Omaheke regional governor, Pio Nganate has refuted reports that 800 people died of hunger in the region over the past two years.
Nganate reported that during the specified period, malnutrition resulted in 139 fatalities.
He said that in the 2022/23 financial year, there were a total of 554 new cases of malnutrition, and 15 malnourished patients were successfully treated.
“When it comes to deaths due to malnutrition in the same period under review, 13 cases were recorded out of the total number of 554 new cases and this translates to 2.3%. Malnutrition deaths due to integrated management of acute malnutrition are 64 out of 213 cases reported, translating to 30% of the total number of cases reported. In conclusion, the total number of deaths due to malnutrition and acute malnutrition during the 2022/23 financial year is 77,” said Nganate.
He added that during the 2023/24 financial year, 273 new malnutrition cases were recorded out of 5545 cases.
Malnutrition cases successfully treated during this period account for 114 out of 318 cases on treatment.
Nganate added that the default rate is 19 patients who were absent for two consecutive weighings.
Four out of 318 people died from malnutrition during the same period, which is a decrease from the 13 deaths from the previous year.
“Malnutrition deaths due to integrated management of acute malnutrition are 58 out of 541 cases reported, translating to 11%. The overall figures show a decrease in the number of deaths due to malnutrition and acute malnutrition from 77 in the previous year to 62 in this current financial year,” said Nganate.
