UNICEF Advocates More investments To Tackle Malnutrition in North East

UNICEF advocates more investments to tackle malnutrition in North East

From Umar Dankano,Yola.

In an effort to ensure good and healthy children nutrition in the North Eastern states and Nigeria at large, the United Nations Children’s Fund,UNICEF.Bauchi Field office has advocated for more investments by governments.

Nutrition specialist of the UNICEF, Mrs Philomena Irene announced at a two day media dialogue on Age-Aporopriate complimentary feeding for children Aged 6–23 months held on 16th to 17th May 2024 in Gombe state that, available and reliable data has shown that child wasting as a result of malnutrition has snowballed from 400,000 to 1.2 million in the last two years which she said is unacceptable by all standard.

Irene explained that the main focus in UNICEF is prevention of malnutrition and wastage amongst children from 6 to 23 months of age noting that the organization has floated a pilot scheme towards that regard tagged “Child Nutrition Fund” in local communities.

“UNICEF Nigeria nutrition focus is on prevention. Our big focus is to prevent malnutrition instead of waiting for the children to be severely malnourished before treatment.

“Our big focus now is to integrate nutrition to other sectors like WASH, agriculture, social protection, education program and also to scale up our nutrition program in all LGAs and the states in Nigeria.

Irene reiterated that child food poverty connoting children inability to access and consume a minimum diverse diets in early age(childhood) was inform the nutrition program  purposely to scale up children’s diet during complementary feeding periods with locally and affordable food in our communities.

She maintained that the organization with other partners are targeting 350 million children to be reach out to yearly until 2030 urging parents especially mothers to embrace the mantra for the well being of their children.

Earlier in his remarks the UNICEF’s Communications Officer,Olagunju Opeyami informed the 65 journalists invited for training that the dialogue aimed at brainstorming sessions to poster workable panaceas in tackling the challenge through awareness to the government and it’s citizens.

Opeyami said that journalists after the dialogue will acquire depth knowledge on child nutrition indicators in the zone and will acquaints themselves with the workings of Children Nutrition Fund,CNF floated by the Unicef to end the scourge.

Opeyami urged the journalists to be indepth in their reportage especially with the experiences gathered from the locals to attract more fundings, awareness from government and to ensure proactive and decisive approaches to the challenge in the zone.

At a field trip to a health care facility in Kalurgo PHC of Kaltugo local government area demonstrations were conducted to journalists by Philomena Irene and a local Nutrition facilitator,Ladi Abdullahi respectively highlighting that mothers are encourage to continue breast feeding for the 6 months of a child’s life to 2 years while adding complimentary food.

“In Kalurgo PHC here you will see the different kind of complimentary food that we have been promoting that is made up of available locally affordable food that is home grown by the mothers here in Kalurgo making nutritions food that are nutrients dense and you can also see the children that are taking the food in Kalurgo.

“UNICEF is also promoting the orange flesh sweet potato cultivation, we have mothers here that have orange flesh sweet potato farms in their backyard that are growing them alongside other vegetables like Okra, spinach, cabbage tomatoes and also aleyfo called locally so that children can take variety of food that are nutrients dense and fresh and also that are palatable for their taste,” she said.

“While we are promoting these foods for 6-23 months we do not forget other children in the family and also the fathers. So we encourage fathers to eat from these foods because our nutrition focus is at the family level because a healthy household also means healthy family,” she added.