Nutrition Advocates Commend Yobe’s Commitment to Improved Child Feeding Policies
By Baba Dan’iya
Stakeholders have commended Yobe Government’s commitment to strengthening nutrition financing and policies to reduce malnutrition among children under five.
Adam Chindo Sodangi, Team Leader of the Steering Committee of Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), told reporters at a breakfast meeting on Friday in Damaturu that the state had demonstrated strong political will to improve child nutrition.
He said the collaboration with the state government focused on three priority areas: increased budget allocation and release for nutrition, operationalisation of the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF), and the adoption of family-friendly policies.
Sodangi explained that the CNF, domiciled in the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), allows state governments to contribute funds which UNICEF matches to provide essential nutrition commodities.
He said Yobe had already released its CNF counterpart funding, adding that the action would significantly boost the availability of nutrition supplies.
Sodangi also urged the government to establish nutrition departments in line Ministries, Departments and Agencies to ensure proper coordination of nutrition activities.
He said CS-SUNN was advocating six months paid maternity leave for women in public service to strengthen exclusive breastfeeding and child growth.
According to him, the state government has begun processes on both the maternity leave policy and the creation of nutrition departments, reflecting its commitment to child health.
He said participants at the meeting included State Assembly members, permanent secretaries, nutrition desk officers, civil society organisations and the media.
“Our next expectation is the formal approval of the six-month maternity leave and the establishment of nutrition departments. We want stakeholders to sustain the momentum until all objectives are achieved,” he said.
Ambrose Evhoesor, Programme Officer of CS-SUNN, said Yobe continued to face a persistent nutrition challenge despite progress in some indicators.
He said stunting declined from 57.2 per cent in 2018 to 54.5 per cent in 2023, but wasting at 10.1 per cent and underweight at 38.8 per cent remained worrying.
Evhoesor said malnutrition threatened human capital development and national productivity, noting that high-burden countries lose between two and three per cent of Gross Domestic Product to nutrition-related challenges.
He said greater investment in nutrition would yield gains in maternal and child health, cognitive development, education outcomes and economic growth.
Also speaking, Alhaji Abdu Shuaibu, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting all nutrition-related programmes.
He urged participants to apply the knowledge gained and sensitise others to ensure the success of nutrition interventions across the state.
