By Bisola Adeyemo
To end the age-long predicament of malnutrition, federal and state governments have been urged to tackle the scourge of malnutrition among children by committing and prioritising it in areas of funding and to prevent malnutrition in the country.
The wife of the Katsina State Governor, Dr Hadiza Bello Masari made the call at a press conference she termed “Severe Acute Malnutrition: We Only Have Today to Secure Our Tomorrow,” which was held at the Katsina Local Government Service Commission on Thursday.
Masari added that all the policies and operational plans enacted by both federal and state governments to tackle malnutrition should be operationalised and implemented at all levels to end the predicament
According to her, Thisday gathered that the growing number of Nigerian children are dying of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and there is urgent need to procure nutrition commodities such as Ready-to-Use Therapeutic (RUTF) for their treatment.
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She said that all hands should be on deck to save about two million Nigerian children below the age of five years who are currently battling with severe acute malnutrition in different parts of the country.
She said: “It is because we have failed to handle nutrition issues at the very basic levels that we now have a growing number of children dying of severe acute malnutrition. So, there is need to procure nutrition commodities for their treatment.
“The government has demonstrated some degree of commitments in allocation of resources and enactments of policies as well as operational plans to address food and nutrition, there is, however, the need to ensure that these policies are operationalised and plans implemented at all levels.
“The government should also demonstrate more commitment and prioritise nutrition in areas of funding for the prevention and treatment of malnutrition at various levels.”
The governor’s wife admonished traditional and religious leaders to play their roles in averting malnutrition by encouraging practices that support women with sustainable means of livelihood and propel men to prioritise family nutrition as a means to economic growth.
