By Bashir Rabe Mani, Sokoto
The Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) has urged the Sokoto State Government to release the N500 million Child Nutrition Fund pledged for UNICEF and extend paid maternity leave to six months as part of measures to tackle malnutrition and anaemia.
The organisation made the appeal on Tuesday during an advocacy visit to the Sokoto State Head of Service, Alhaji Abdulkadir Ahmed Mohammed.
Leading the delegation, CS-SUNN Team Lead for Partnership and Collaboration, Alhaji Shuaibu Musa Kafin-Gana, said the engagement was aimed at strengthening government action on nutrition, particularly among children, pregnant women and nursing mothers.
Kafin-Gana said Sokoto had made progress in reducing stunting among children under five, noting that the rate declined from 54 per cent in the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) to 42.8 per cent in the 2023–2024 survey.
“That is a commendable milestone in five years,” he said.
He, however, expressed concern over anaemia among pregnant and lactating women and children under five, stressing the importance of releasing the Child Nutrition Fund.
According to him, the fund serves as counterpart funding for UNICEF’s provision of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
Kafin-Gana recalled that Sokoto released N100 million for the programme in 2014, while Gov. Ahmed Aliyu pledged to increase the contribution to N500 million in 2025.
He said the money had yet to be released, adding that CS-SUNN’s engagement with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning indicated that inadequate follow-up contributed to the delay.
“If the N500 million is released, UNICEF will match it, making N1 billion worth of RUTF available for Sokoto,” he said.
The organisation also called on the state government to extend paid maternity leave to six months to promote exclusive breastfeeding and improve maternal and child nutrition.
Kafin-Gana said providing crèche facilities in government offices would further support nursing mothers and contribute to efforts to reduce malnutrition and anaemia.
CS-SUNN Ex-officio, Alhaji Rabiu Bello Gandi, also urged the government to prioritise nutrition interventions in the state’s 2027 budget.
Responding, the Head of Service assured the delegation that the government would consider the requests and asked for information on states that had adopted six-month maternity leave.
Mohammed disclosed that nursing mothers in Sokoto currently enjoy four months of fully paid maternity leave.
He also advocated measures to support nursing mothers in educational institutions, particularly students, to give them adequate time to recover after childbirth and breastfeed their babies.
The CS-SUNN delegation had earlier visited the state Ministries of Environment and Budget and Economic Planning as part of its advocacy campaign. The team also visited the Sokoto State House of Assembly on Tuesday.
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