By: Monday Danladi, Bauchi
Executive Chairman of Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Board, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed has assured that the government will soon release the matching fund to enable it access the child nutrition fund (CNF) initiatives.
The CNF which is in the custody of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), is aimed at assisting government procure the required nutrients and foods needed to prevent and fight malnutrition in children U-5.
Bauchi State, which is one of focal States in Bauchi Field Office of UNICEF has been dragging feet in releasing the matching fund for 2 years since the introduction of the fund thereby increasing rate of severe acute malnutrition in U-5 children across the State.
In his reaction to the development in a telephone conversation, Rilwanu Mohammed stated that, “It is not that we refused to do something about it, nor the Governor refused to approve the matching fund. We are in the process of preparing the memo, very soon, it will be presented to the Governor for approval.”
He added that, “UNICEF has sent a letter to the effect to us and we are working on it. They told us that if we give N100m they will give N200m, it will be joined together to procure the required food nutrients. We will give the N100m and they will give N200m, that is the contents of the letter, we still have it.”
The EC added that,”Other States in the Bauchi Field Office of UNICEF, Adamawa, Gombe, Plateau and Taraba have paid except our own. It was me that has not written the memo, not that the Governor refused to pay. Now, I am writing, I have proposed a bill which I am going to send to the Governor as soon as he comes back, for approval.”
According to him,”For now, there is no cause for alarm, we are doing our work normally, we are planning for the MNCHW, everything is in place, the Committee sat last Monday with the Deputy Governor as the Chairman of the Multisectoral approach to Nutrition, we have decided what to do, that is just one of the issues, there are many others.”
Rilwanu Mohammed added that,”There is the issue of Vitamin A supplementation, deworming of children and others which we are going to tackle. Now we have 54 CMA centers, they were 33 before, we added 19, we are going to start work in these places. We are receiving 100,000 cartons of RUTF from Abuja but we are to do a training before the distribution.”
On the issue of MMS, he said that,”There are about 316,000 tins of MMS which we are going to utilize during the MNCHW, to be distributed to all pregnant women to prevent ameania in pregnancy.”
“Everything is on cause, we will not sit and Wath our children die, we are fully prepared to act. We have a budget line which will be attached to the memo for the approval of the N100m, we cannot write to the Governor without making reference to the budget line, it will not work, we have N150m in the budget, we are removing N100m from it, the Local Government Funds. We are almost there, we have started the work,” he added.
The Chief of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Dr Nuzhat Rafique had raised concerns over the inability of the state to release the matching fund in the face of rising cases of severe acute malnutrition in U-5 children across the State which stands at over 54,000 victims.
