By Mary Jalingo
Civil Society on Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) has advocated for the full implementation of the National Strategic Plan of Action for Nutrition (NSPAN) in Niger State, to improve the nutritional situation in the state.
The Monitoring and Evaluation officer of CS-SUNN, Mrs. Jayne Arinze, made the call during a one day CS-SUNN/ PACFaH level dissemination and strategic development on the score card with CSOs held at Haskell Luxury Hotel in Minna.
Mrs. Arinze said it was sad that the state was yet to release funds allocated in the 2016 budget for nutrition activities few months to the end of the budget year, adding that malnutrition, a silent killer, remains a great challenge particularly for mother and children in Nigeria.
She said the first 1,000 days of a child’s life represent a very critical period, noting that adequate nutrition during these time can avert malnutrition and ensures that a child have the opportunity to grow and learn well.
She said an under-nourished child has lower resistance to infections and more likely to die young from disease which she said can be prevented with improved nutrition funding in relevant sectors such as ministries of health, agriculture and education.
The M & E officer said in order to improve the malnutrition status of the state which stands at 37 per cent, there was need for improved capacity building of health workers especially at the rural areas on nutrition through on the job training and re- training on Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYC), strengthen monitoring and evaluation of nutrition activities for better service delivery and increase accountability and management of nutrition funds in the state.
Also speaking, the chairman CS-SUNN Niger State Chapter, Mrs. Laiatu Danladi, said malnutrition which is a major course of infant mortality in Nigeria must be given adequate attention with government at all levels increasing funding for nutrition actives and also releasing such funds timely
Mrs. Danladi commended the state government for its efforts at reducing malnutrition in the state with an average performance of 56 percent according to the score card on the level of implementation of the NSPAN as revealed by CS-SUNN and urged them to do more.
She urged the government and non-state actors to see the fight against malnutrition as a collective one adding that a nation that does not protect the lives of its future generations has no future.
