Malnutrition hospitalises 95 children under five in Erongo between January and July, claims seven lives

A TOTAL of 95 children under the age of five in the Erongo Region were admitted to hospitals due to malnutrition between January and July 2026, of whom seven died.

This was revealed by Tuyenikelo Mwashekele, the Chief Health Programme Officer for the Erongo Directorate of Health. She disclosed the figures during the Erongo Regional Council’s recent Ordinary Council Meeting.

Mwashekele revealed that in 2024, the region recorded 192 hospital admissions due to malnutrition among children under five, resulting in 18 deaths. In 2025, there were 163 hospital admissions, resulting in 10 deaths.

“Those are seriously not good figures, and, as much as Erongo has all the mines, big oceans, and big farms, we should not be losing to malnutrition,” Mwashekele said.