Malnutrition: US Support Reaches Over 40,000 Children in Bauchi — UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bauchi Field Office, has disclosed that over 40,000 children aged between six and 23 months in Bauchi State have benefited from nutrition support through a grant from the United States Government.

Philomena Irene, the Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, disclosed this while speaking on the impact of the U.S. Government-supported nutrition interventions in the state.

According to her, the support, implemented in collaboration with the Bauchi State Government, has enabled UNICEF and its partners to provide small-quantity lipid-based nutritional supplements to children as part of efforts to prevent malnutrition in the state.

She said the intervention had also strengthened community participation in nutrition programmes, with more than 6,000 “Mama-to-Mama” groups and “Fathers for Good Health” members trained to provide skills and public health messages on the prevention of malnutrition and other interventions targeting the first 1,000 days of life.

Irene added that more than 50 healthcare workers at facility level had also been trained on the provision of nutrition services and supplementation.

The UNICEF nutrition specialist said the U.S. support had further helped strengthen logistics and information management systems, including the District Health Information Management System, to improve the monitoring and delivery of nutrition interventions across the state.

She said the support had encouraged local governments to commit and release funds for nutrition activities, including the procurement of nutrition commodities, Small-Quantity Lipid-Based Supplements, Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) and Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) aimed at preventing anaemia among pregnant women.

She further disclosed that UNICEF had conducted advocacy meetings with legislators and local government chairmen in the state to promote greater commitment to nutrition financing.

According to her, the advocacy is aimed at ensuring that nutrition remains a priority in government planning, particularly through increased budgetary commitments, timely release of funds and the establishment of dedicated budget lines for nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific activities.

Also speaking with newsmen, Dr. Rilwanu Mohammed, the Executive Chairman of the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Board, said that about 480,000 cartons of RUTF had been distributed, while the state government had approved N500 million for the procurement of additional RUTF and Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS).

He explained that the matching funding arrangement was intended to help the state close gaps in the availability of essential nutrition commodities.