From:Femi Oyelola in Kaduna
The National Secretariat of the Civil Society, Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), in collaboration with the United Nations Children Education Funds (UNICEF), yesterday commenced a two-day capacity building for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and media practitioners on advocacy strategy and budget tracking.
Welcoming the participants, the Coordinator of CS-SUNN in Kaduna, Jessica Bartholomew said the two-day training is to equip the participants with various advocacy strategies that would help them in their advocacy visit without hindrances.
The State Coordinator disclosed that the training will equip the participants, who are nutrition advocates, to track nutrition budgets in various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in the State.
She explained that the goal is to ensure all Nigerians have access to food and nutrition security, adding that it will raise awareness about nutrition and build capacity for the participants to support nutrition actions.
In her presentation titled “Overview of Nutrition Situation in the State,” the State Nutrition Officer (SNO) Ramatu Haruna explained that malnutrition is a critical public health issue in Kaduna State, contributing to over 50% of under-five mortality (NDHS 2023/24).
She added that, Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Feeding (MIYCN) practices remain inadequate, with only 13% of newborns receiving timely breastfeeding initiation, 41.1% of children exclusively breastfed, and just 12.3% of children aged 6-23 months fed appropriately (MICS 2021.)
She lamented the low access to diverse, nutritious foods is due to poverty and economic constraints.
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