Moringa oleifera: The wonder tree fighting malnutrition

Eight years ago, Agnes Nyadzumba of Chikapa village in southern Malawi received six Moringa oleifera seedlings from the Nkhalango Yathu Project, and she was excited about finding an affordable nutrition source for her underweight children.

Once she started harvesting the trees’ leaves, she was able to make nutritional supplements from the dried leaves that she said have proven to be a vital source of nutrition for her family. Her family members no longer get sick regularly and the weight of her five children has improved, she said.

She added that apart from drying the leaves, which she later grinds into a powder and uses in porridge, the trees are also providing her family with highly nutritious vegetables throughout the year.

“Almost all parts of the moringa tree are useful, the roots and seeds can be used as medicine while the leaves, fresh pods, and flowers can be used as vegetables or can be dried into a powder, which can be added to porridge or boiled with water and taken as a beverage,” she said.

Nutrition experts in Malawi believe that the use of moringa as a supplement can help alleviate the country’s nutritional challenges as the tree grows easily in the country and is a low-cost source of vitamins and minerals.

Zacharia Magombo, a scientific officer at the National Herbarium of Malawi explained that moringa is a fast-growing, drought-resistant tree that can be grown in almost all subtropical regions of the world with temperatures ranging from 25-35 degrees Celsius.

“The good thing with moringa trees is that they are fast-maturing, and they can either be directly sown as seeds, or can be grown as tree cuttings,” he said. “A farmer is assured of fully grown trees within the year of planting.”

Studies of the plant have also shown that it is very rich in micronutrients and can be promoted for use among people who have trouble accessing balanced diets, according to Kingsley Masamba, an associate professor of food science and technology at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

He added that Malawi and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa could avoid deaths resulting from undernutrition if there was strategic sensitization about the nutritional benefits of the plant.

“Moringa oleifera is a readily available nutritional source, very rich in vitamins and other micronutrients such as potassium and calcium,” he said. “The plant also has anti-fungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antidepressant properties making it an affordable medicine for poor communities.”

According to the Malawi National Statistical Office, over 142,000 of the 2.9 million children under the age of 5 suffer from acute malnutrition, while 42% are chronically malnourished and this undernutrition is estimated to be costing the country 147 billion Malawian kwacha ($597 million) a year — 10.3% of the country’s GDP.

Mangani Katundu, a senior lecturer of food and nutrition at the University of Malawi, believes that moringa could solve these nutritional challenges as it has been used for centuries in many parts of the world because of its nutritional and medicinal properties.

 “The tree has, apart from being found to be a rich source of proteins, also been [proven] to have antioxidants which help to cure both types of diabetes,” he said.

In line with this, The Hunger Project has been promoting the use of moringa products among food-insecure families and people living with HIV in the southern Malawian district of Neno since 2014.

Rosemary Nhlema, vice board chairperson at The Hunger Project in Malawi, said the organization has been promoting the moringa tree as a nutritious crop and the impact has been promising.

“Moringa is a rich nutrient crop, and [with] the realization that good nutrition is key to attaining development, Hunger Project Malawi is promoting the tree which also has economic potential — as demand for powder on both the local and international market continues to rise,” she said.

The organization has since embarked on a moringa tree-planting exercise in the district and it has, with support from community members, planted 45,000 trees, which Sekanawo Kapira district nutrition coordinator, said are helping promote the government’s vision of building a healthy nation.

“[The] nutritional benefits of the moringa tree are very visible,” Kapira said. “The tree has proven to be a worthwhile solution to the nutritional challenges faced by poor families.”

Elizabeth Mwale, a 37-year-old PLHIV from Nelson village in the Neno district who has been on antiretroviral medication since 2013 told Devex that moringa has been a very effective supplement since she was put on ARVs.

Mwale — whose name has been changed to protect her privacy — said that since she started using moringa both as a powder and as a vegetable, she and her two children have continued to enjoy good health.

“The good thing is that these trees easily grow in our area and it only takes a year for a seedling to grow into a full tree, making these trees a true friend to poor people like me that cannot afford to buy nutritious foods,” she said.