By Brenda Nkosi
The Ministry of Health and Sanitation has trained members of the Blantyre District Nutrition Coordinating Committee (DNCC) in the implementation of Thanzi Sessions, a community-based nutrition model aimed at improving child nutrition using locally available foods.
The two-day training equipped district nutrition officers with practical skills to identify and manage cases of moderate undernutrition in young children, with a view to cascading the knowledge to extension workers and communities.
Principal Nutrition Programmes Officer in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Yamikani Fiwa, said Thanzi Sessions were introduced in August 2025 as a national standard for community nutrition programming, replacing the Community-led Complementary Feeding and Learning Sessions (CCFLS) approach.
She said the shift was necessary to ensure sustaiability, as the previous model relied heavily on donor support and was difficult for communities to maintain in the long term.
“Government noticed that CCFLS was difficult to sustain beyond donor funds because it required a lot of resources. Thanzi Sessions target children aged six to 54 months and use locally available foods so that the recipes can easily be adopted by families,” said Fiwa.
She explained that under the new approach, children identified with moderate malnutrition are enrolled in a structured 12-day intervention programme that combines feeding demonstrations with nutrition education.
“The Thanzi Sessions are specifically designed to catch children before they fall into severe clinical danger. We are focusing on moderately malnourished children, those who are wasted and those who are at risk of wasting,” she said.
Fiwa added that childhood malnutrition remains a major public health challenge in Malawi, with stunting levels still affecting about 38 percent of children, making community-based interventions critical.
Food and Nutrition Officer for Blantyre District Council, Lestar Kacheche, said undernutrition in the district continues to be driven mainly by inadequate dietary intake and disease.
He said the training will strengthen the capacity of officers and communities to promote proper feeding practices at household level.
“The issue of undernutrition mostly happens because of inadequate dietary intake and diseases. The Thanzi Sessions will equip officers, communities and caregivers with the knowledge and skills needed to improve child feeding practices and help prevent malnutrition at grassroots level,” said Kacheche.
He expressed optimism that the rollout of Thanzi Sessions will contribute to improved child nutrition outcomes across the district.
