POOR nutrition is a drawback for many developing countries including Zambia, which is said to be one of 22 African countries with the highest burden of undernutrition in under five children.
Many children and women in the country suffer from one or more forms of malnutrition, such as low birth weight, wasting, stunting, underweight, and multiple micronutrient deficiencies such as vitamin A, iron, zinc, and iodine deficiencies.
According to health experts, undernutrition is determined in an individual’s nutritional status.
It is influenced by factors of food, care, and health.
Adequate nutrition requires the presence of all three.
Growth occurring in a period of 1,000 days that starts at conception continues through fetal life, birth, and infancy up to the second year of life is said to be the most important in a child.
This period of rapid physical growth also coincides with significant brain formation anddevelopment.
For this reason, undernutrition during the fetal and early childhood period leads to a negative impact on brain structure and cognitive function.
Under-nutrition is associated with poor school performance, leading to reduced productivity and income earning capacity in adult life.
Additionally, health experts say that undernourished children have substantially lower chances of survival than children who are well nourished.
They are much more likely to suffer from a serious infection and die from common childhood diseases such as diarrhoea, pneumonia, measles, and malaria.
Maternal and child under-nutrition is estimated to contribute to one third of child mortality.
Every level of under-nutrition increases the risk of a child’s dying.
Gender inequality has been identified as an important underlying cause of women’s undernutrition.
It is worsened by poverty and lack of access to resources.
As has been observed in many families and traditional setups, boys and men traditionally eat first, and girls and women eat the leftovers.
In a case where the food is not enough, this means that the girls and women will have little or nothing to eat.
These practices and gender norms make it difficult for women, more often than not, to have limited access to and control over resources and may, therefore, be excluded from household decision making.
For the infants, the nutritional status of a mother is key to the child’s good health.
According to research in the Eastern and Southern Africa region (ESAR), approximately 14 per cent of infants weigh less than 2.5kg at birth.
26 per cent of all children under the age of five are underweight, and 45 per cent suffer from stunted growth, often resulting in irreversible physical and mental deficiencies later in life. 
Undernutrition contributes up to 50 per cent of all cases of child mortality.
Health experts say that an undernourished woman will give birth to a baby with low birth weight, causing the cycle of undernutrition and poor health to continue.
Anemia increases during pregnancy and increases the risk of complications.
It is also a lead cause of maternal death.
It is said that over 80,000 women in eastern and southern Africa die every year due to pregnancy and childbirth related issues.
Health experts say if a woman’s nutritional status is poor at conception and if she does not gain sufficient weight during pregnancy, she will most likely give birth to a low birth weight baby.
The child may never catch up in terms of growth and, as an adult, will run an increased risk of chronic illness such as heart disease and diabetes.
It is advisable for women to ensure that they provide high levels of breastfeeding their infants because low levels of exclusive breastfeeding contributes to morbidity and mortality among children. 
According to a report on breastfeeding in eastern and southern Africa, only 40 per cent of babies are exclusively breastfed during the first six months.
It is necessary for mothers to understand that breast milk is the best form of nutrition for babies because it significantly reduces the risk of diarrhoea, acute respiratory infection and other child killers.
Additionally, nutrition should be promoted as it has a direct impact on the health status of people living with HIV and AIDS.
According to the report, HIV increases people’s energy requirements, while reducing their appetite.
As a result, HIV positive people are more likely to be malnourished, and, therefore, need specific support in terms of nutrition. 
In the region, HIV prevalence among girls and young women is two to four times higher than among boys and young men.
Stigma and the fear of being rejected by their families makes women refrain from getting tested or disclosing their HIV status, thus limiting their chances of getting treated when they become malnourished.
There is need to intensify a comprehensive infant and young child feeding programme and enhanced training materials for maternity wards and communities.
In Zambia, the Zambia Civil Society Scaling up Nutrition Alliance (Zambia CSO-SUN Alliance) is a movement of national Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working to raise the profile of nutrition on the national development agenda.
The alliance is working towards achieving’…a Zambia where every child is assured of sufficient nutrition through strengthened policy, financial commitment and adequate programme implementation.”
The alliance is focusing its attention on the critical 1,000 day window of opportunity from pregnancy until a child’s second birthday, during which time nutrition has the greatest impact on saving lives, developing a child’s cognitive and physical capacity and mitigating the risk of chronic diseases.
After this point, child malnutrition is extremely difficult to change.
According to UNICEF, undernutrition in Zambia can be greatly reduced through the delivery of simple interventions at key stages of the life cycle.
For the mother, it can be reduced before she becomes pregnant, during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.
For the child, it can be reduced in infancy and early childhood.
Maternal undernutrition leads to intra-uterine growth retardation and low birth weight.
“The 1,000-day period from the beginning of pregnancy to the child’s second birthday provides a critical window of opportunity in which interventions can have a positive impact on a child’s prospect for survival, growth, and development especially in countries with high burden of under-nutrition such as Zambia,” UNICEF says.
A package of effective nutrition interventions to reduce the levels of chronic malnutrition or stunting has been globally agreed upon by experts in the field.
This package includes adequate maternal nutrition during pregnancy and lactation, early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, continued breastfeeding and adequate complementary feeding from six to 24 months, and increased micronutrient intake during the critical 1,000 days.
Effective interventions for treatment of acute malnutrition or wasting include the use of specific therapeutic foods, treatment of medical complications for severe cases and the use of various supplementary foods for moderate cases.
Given the close link between undernutrition and infections, the implementation at scale of interventions aimed at preventing and treating infections such as immunization, diarrhea, and malaria control will further contribute to malnutrition reduction.
UNICEF also supports the delivery of priority interventions at different stages of the life cycle which includes policy development, system strengthening, service delivery, advocacy, capability building, partnerships, resource mobilization, innovations and knowledge management.
From the above, it is clear that in order to improve children’s nutritional status, women’s nutrition needs to be addressed at all stages of the life cycle.
As Marc Van Ameringen, executive director, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Geneva, Switzerland says, women are crucial.
“We simply cannot end malnutrition if we don’t invest in women, and not just because of their hugely important role as mothers. Women are critical to food and nutrition security due to the enormously important and myriad roles they play in agriculture, in their communities as workers and as producers,” he says.
Lucy Sullivan, executive director 1,000 Days says, breastfeeding powers the next generation. 
As the mother goes, so goes the child.
Improving rates of exclusive breastfeeding is one of the best, most cost effective solutions to ensure child survival and set the foundation for lifelong health.
Men also have a part to play in improving nutrition.
Educating men to buy the right kind of food, doing home gardening, rearing cows, poultry farming, using safe water, building sanitary latrines and hygiene is as important as educating women.
It is also important to note that child marriage affects nutrition. 
When mothers are babies, how are they expected to care for their own babies?
There is need to stop child marriage, create a safer environment and provide social and economic security to young girls in society.
Political commitment is critical.
The Zambian Government has already committed to promote diversification of agricultural production and diets.
Government will also endeavor to promote food processing and preservation at the farm and household level as well as promote nutrition education. 
Government also intends to strengthen the school feeding programme and introduce supplementary feeding for expecting and lactating mothers and infants.
Empowering women will automatically lead to less hunger.
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