Nutrition Central to Vision 2030 as Kenya Confronts Triple Burden
Nairobi, Kenya - - Good nutrition is the foundation of health, productivity and economic growth, with every $1 invested yielding $22 through reduced healthcare costs and higher productivity.
The Ministry of Health, through the State Department for Public Health and Professional Standards’ Division of Nutrition and Dietetics, in partnership with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) hosted a Media Roundtable Breakfast on Nutrition Advocacy with senior editors and nutrition media champions.
Speaking at the event, Veronica Kirogo, the Head of the Division of Nutrition and Dietetics emphasized that nutrition is central to Vision 2030, the SDGs and the AU Agenda 2063, and must be fully integrated into the country’s social and economic development agenda.
Kenya continues to face a triple burden of malnutrition—undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and rising obesity. Progress has been recorded: stunting has fallen from 36% in 2003 to 18% in 2022, underweight from 19% to 10%, wasting from 7.5% to 4%, and childhood overweight from 6% to 3%. However, 45% of women aged 20–49 are overweight compared to 15% of men, increasing risks of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Unhealthy diets remain a concern, with only 5% of adults consuming recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables, while just 49% of women meet minimum dietary diversity. Exclusive breastfeeding has also declined to 60%, and malnutrition continues to cost the economy an estimated KSh 373.9 billion annually.
Interventions such as the school meals programme reaching over 2.6 million learners daily, nutrition-sensitive cash transfers to 48,000 households, and mainstreaming nutrition into education are helping to address the nutrition challenge.
Kirogo and Ruth Okowa, Country Director, GAIN Kenya urged the media to counter misinformation, amplify success stories, expose enforcement gaps and keep nutrition high on the political agenda, positioning good nutrition as a national priority for better health and economic growth.