Torit Nutrition Training Center graduated twenty-eight students after six months training on nourishment.
According to Radio Emmanuel, Caritas Luxembourg in collaboration with TADO and Torit State Ministry of Health in the area implemented the course.
Afenap Nyikiba, a tutor at the centre, says 28 students attended the course successfully after two dropped out due to economic hardship.
She says the training aimed at building the capacity of students to deliver nutrition services to affected communities.
Through their services, the trainees will help prevent and eradicate malnutrition out of Torit and Kapoeta States.
‘The objective of community assistant nutrition training being implemented by Foundation Caritas Luxembourg, TADO and Torit State Ministry Health is to build the capacity of the selected participants to deliver nutrition services to the community, promoting better nutrition practices and knowledge to prevent and eradicate malnutrition from Torit State’, she explains.
Nyikiba believes the training will help the participants to identify different levels of malnutrition among children less than five years, pregnant and lactating mothers and treat them.
She says the graduates are able to select good food to prevent malnutrition.
The participants are able to recognize and detect malnutrition status among children, pregnant and lactating mothers, prevent and treat malnutrition in different stages, stresses the tutor.
Torit State Minister of Health, Paska Hifita Oduho encourages the graduates to make use of the skills acquired to combat malnutrition in Eastern Equatoria region, instead of depending on ready-made food stuff.
‘We are not going to start from nowhere I don’t want us to continue with this dependency syndrome of bringing our children and expecting them to be fed with groundnuts paste from anywhere and yet we are farmers. We have all this organic variety where you can use your minds as nutritionists to come with something better for the children, lactating and pregnant mothers. So they will enjoy from what we have. Those were the same produce we want to make use of them to kick malnutrition in Eastern Equatoria generally, she emphasizes.
The minister advises parents to send their children to the training center to fight against malnutrition.
The speakers made their remarks during the graduation ceremony of the nutritionists on Tuesday in Torit.