Kaduna State has recorded 15, 842 new cases of malnutrition among children under five years between January and June, out of which 11,328 have been treated.
The Assistant Nutrition Officer in the state, Mr Adams George made this known while presenting report on current nutrition situation in the state, during a meeting in Kaduna on Wednesday.
The meeting was organised by the Civil Society-Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), to review its 2020 Work Plan in response to COVID-19 pandemic, and update members on SUN Pooled Fund Window II project.
George also said that a total of 94 children died within the period, adding that the state government was doing all it can to curb the trend.
He pointed out that while malnourished children were being treated at various Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) sites, preventive measures under the Community Infant and Young Child Feeding (C-IYCF) were also being implemented.
He said that so far, a total of 18,523 pregnant women, 16,057 mothers of children below six months and 15,564 mothers of children from six to 23 months have been reached with C-IYCF messages.
“Similarly, no fewer than 12,574 women of childbearing age, 8,292 grand mothers and 4,619 men were also reached with IYCF messages,” he added.
George called on CS-SUNN and other development partners to continue to support the government to ensure adequate response to the problem of malnutrition in the state.
Earlier, Mr Silas Ideva, CS-SUNN Coordinator in the state, reiterated the organisation’s support to strengthen the state response to the scourge of malnutrition, particularly with the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Ideva, who described the development as “very disturbing” urged the government to act fast to save the affected children from preventable death and insulate healthy children from becoming malnourished.
According to him, CS-SUNN is on ground to support the implementation of high impact and result driven interventions to curb the trend of malnutrition in the state.
He explained that the meeting was also organised to review and harmonise work plan for the Partnership for Improving Nigerian Nutrition Systems (PINNS) project in the state.
The coordinator urged members of the coalition at their individual organisations to also review their work plans, to effectively respond to the disturbing malnutrition indices in the state.
Also speaking, Mr Isah Ibrahim, Nutrition Advocacy Advisor, Save the Children International (SCI) commended CS-SUNN for working to improve nutrition situation in the state.
Ibrahim said that though significant progress was being recorded in nutrition interventions, but access to health and nutrition services was being challenged by increased population and inadequate funds.
He urged the state government to increase investment in nutrition, health, and education of children and called on CS-SUNN and other civil society organisations to speak out for the voiceless children.
