From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna
The State Coordinator of the Institute for Dietetics in Nigeria (IDN), Kaduna State Chapter, Hajiya Hauwa Usman has decried that only five percent of their members are licensed and registered.
Speaking at the 1st Scientific Conference tagged KADA 2023 of the institute in Kaduna yesterday she expressed concern on how many dieticians are not recognized in various facilities across the state.
She however said the institute is using various platforms to create awareness of dieticians so that people in need of their services can benefit.
According to her, “Kaduna has the highest number of dieticians in the country, but we are not being recognized because many of us are not licensed and registered. We do not have our unit in various facilities because only 5% of our members are licensed and registered.”
She urged members to register with the association in order to benefit from programs in the various government hospitals.
On her part, the representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Kaduna, Mrs. Chinwe Ezeife warned that if Nigerians fail to eat right, they are at risk of contracting non-communicable diseases including diabetes, high blood pressure and ulcer.
“Our lifestyle approach and the food we eat is very important if we want to live a healthy life. We also want to enhance the capacity of our practitioners to add value to the wellbeing of their patients and other Nigerians as a way of addressing the health issues being faced in the country,” she added.
Also, the Project Manager, Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN), Dr. Zainab Idris advocated for a national policy to address the intake of salt and other condiments used in preparing meals.
The Dean, College of Science and Technology (CST), Kaduna Polytechnic, Malam Aliyu Hassana said the theme of the conference, ‘Standard Operating Procedures and guidelines for dietary management of Non- Communicable Diseases’ is aimed at enhancing the capacity of practitioners, especially in the health facilities to effectively deliver as competent Nutritionist Dietitians using the modern approach to prevent and manage cases that requires therapeutic attention.
