By: Monday Danladi, Bauchi
Nutrition has been described as a critical part of health and development because it continues to be one of the world’s most critical health and human development challenges causing high-burden nations to lose approximately 2-3 percent of GDP.
The observation was made during a quarterly review meeting of nutrition situation in Bauchi State organised by Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other relevant stakeholders.
In a presentation titled: “Strengthening Child Nutrition in Bauchi State: The Child Nutrition Fund (CNF) and 6 Paid Maternity Leave- A Unique Opportunity”, it was further observed that it threatens countries’ achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Making the presentation, Dabis Mwalike Bauchi State Secretary of CS-SUNN, stated that malnutrition represents a critical public health concern in Nigeria as investing in nutrition significantly multiplies the positive outcomes for maternal and child health, cognitive function and educability, human capital, economic growth and poverty reduction.
She stressed that, “Nutrition, the assimilation by living organisms of food materials that enable them to grow, maintain themselves, and reproduce. Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life.
She explained that Nutrition is the study of nutrients in food, how the body uses them, and the relationship between diet, health, and disease while malnutrition refers to deficiencies or excesses in nutrient intake, imbalance of essential nutrients or impaired nutrient utilization.
According to her, the double burden of malnutrition consists of both undernutrition and overweight and obesity, as well as diet-related noncommunicable diseases while undernutrition manifests in the forms of stunting, low height for age underweight, low weight for age and micronutrient deficiencies as well as Wasting, low weight for height, overweight and high weight for age.
The National Prevalence indicates that
36% of Children born in the past 2 years are put to the breast within One hour of birth, 29% Infants under 6 months of age are exclusively breastfed while 12% children aged 6-23 months are fed with a minimum dietary diversity.
Further in the presentation, Dabis Nwalike explained that Child Nutrition Fund (CNF) is a catalytic financing match mechanism that enables national governments to double their investment in essential nutrition commodities for the prevention and treatment of children who suffer from wasting (low weight for height).
It was initiated in 2020 with specific focus to procure Ready to Use Therapeutic Foods to treat children who suffer from wasting while the vision expanded in 2022 to include other preventive nutrition commodities to enable early prevention, detection, and treatment of children who suffer from wasting.
According to her, In 2021 Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare benefited from $1,063,943 for procurement of Ready to Use Therapeutic Foods.
The call to action include mobilizing resources for Nutrition in 2025/26, release 2025 allocated funding on time and ensure utilization, allocate adequately for nutrition in the 2026 budget based on evidence and use plan to mobilize resources (Get partners, philanthropist, corporate organizations in the state to key into and align with the nutrition plan).
When the call to action is implemented, it will show that the current government cares and is interested in the wellbeing of its citizens and future of its children as good nutrition is key to economic growth of the state.
Commissioner of Budget, Economic Planning and Multilateral Coordination, Amina Mohammed Katagum assured that the State Government is always ready to ensure adequate budgetry allocation to food and nutrition in order to have a healthy society.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Yusuf Jibrin, the Commissioner lauded the meeting describing it as crucial in the implementation of the issues agreed upon in the last quarter meeting.
The Commissioner lamented that the nutrition situation in Bauchi State is not encouraging as it negatively impacts on the people of the state especially women and children U-5.
She stressed that there is hunger among the people of the state which needs the prompt attention of the Ministry of Agriculture to promote food security and availability across the state in order to fight hunger.
The Commissioner assured that the Ministry is doing everything possible to ensure that the issue of food security was tackled in line with the directives of the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning on establishment of food security and nutrition committees at the LGAs in the state.
The Commissioners of Education, Health and Agriculture who were all represented spoke differently agreeing however that there is urgent needs to set machinery in motion on how to fight malnutrition in the state through the multisectoral approach and collaboration.
Speaking earlier, CS-SUNN State Coordinator, Maureen Jibrin stressed the need for immediate action to save the lives of malnourished children in Bauchi State lamenting that the situation is becoming very alarming.
She assured that CS-SUNN is ever ready to join the move to fight severe acute malnutrition in U-5 children across the State urging government to as a matter of urgency, release matching fund to be able to access the child nutrition fund (CNF).
