SCFN harps on creating budget lines for nutrition at primary healthcare board

From:Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

The Kaduna State Committee on Food and Nutrition (SCFN) has called for a dedicated budget line for nutrition initiatives at the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board SPHCB to ensure the availability of funds to address nutrition-related matters.
The Chairman of the Committee Bashir Muhammad (mni), asserted this when he led a delegation of the Committee on an advocacy visit to the Executive Secretary of Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board today Dr Bello Yusuf Jamo yesterday
According to him, Nutrition is an important component of the Health sector; hence, there is a need for the inclusion of a specific allocation for nutrition in the government’s budget for the Board.
The delegation, comprising passionate members of the SCFN including the Director of Said Coordination at the Planning and Budget Commission PBC Aisha Mohammed, representative of UNICEF, Alive, and Thrive, and others emphasized the critical need for prioritizing nutrition funding in government budgets, stating,
“Nutrition is a key determinant of the well-being of our communities, and it is essential that we have a clear budget line to address the nutritional needs of our people.
The Chairman of SCFN, who doubles as the Permanent Secretary of the Planning and Budget Commission , also harped on the need for a Nutrition department in the primary Health Care Board to especially focus on the issues of malnutrition bedeviling the State.
He stressed that creating such a department will enhance the coordination of efforts geared towards fighting malnutrition in the state.
The delegation also admonished the Board to ensure that only qualified Nutritionists are posted as Nutrition Focal Persons in the 23 LGAS for effective service delivery.