The Civil Society Organization Scaling up Nutrition has urged the ministry health to meet the shortage of under five cards in health facilities.
According to the Nutrition Budget Performance Alliance report for first quarter 2019, Under 5 Cards, documents used to monitor weight gain or loss in children have been out of stock for close to a year now in most government health facilities.
Speaking when presenting the report to the Expanded Estimates Committee Alliance National Coordinator Mathews Mhuru, says the report has revealed that mothers in five provinces, namely Lusaka, Central Luapula, Western and Copperbelt use exercise books instead of the required document thereby making growth monitoring nearly impossible.
Mr. Mhuru notes that the shortage of the document is a big problem that requires urgent attention from relevant authorities.
He has stressed that failure to address it poses more stress on the curative side of the health sector as many avoidable illnesses would be unnoticed.
Mr Mhuru further informs the committee that ready to Use Therapeutic Foods have been out of stock for close to a year now, with only a few donated by UNICEF available in selected health facilities.
Mhuru cautions that the situation is increasing the likelihood of deaths of children with severe and acute malnutrition.