UNICEF advocates more investments to tackle malnutrition in North East

From Umar Dankano,Yola

In an effort to ensure good and healthy children nutrition in the North Eastern states and Nigeria at large, the United Nations Children’s Fund,UNICEF, Bauchi Field office has advocated for more investments by governments.
Nutrition specialist of the UNICEF, Mrs Philomena Irene announced at a two day media dialogue on Age-Aporopriate complimentary feeding for children Aged 6–23 months held on 16th to 17th May 2024 in Gombe state that, available and reliable data has shown that child wasting as a result of malnutrition has snowballed from 400,000 to 1.2 million in the last two years which she said is unacceptable by all standard.
Irene explained that the main focus in UNICEF is prevention of malnutrition and wastage amongst children from 6 to 23 months of age noting that the organization has floated a pilot scheme towards that regard tagged “Child Nutrition Fund” in local communities.
“UNICEF Nigeria nutrition focus is on prevention. Our big focus is to prevent malnutrition instead of waiting for the children to be severely malnourished before treatment.
“Our big focus now is to integrate nutrition to other sectors like WASH, agriculture, social protection, education program and also to scale up our nutrition program in all LGAs and the states in Nigeria.
Irene reiterated that child food poverty connoting children inability to access and consume a minimum diverse diets in early age(childhood) was inform the nutrition program purposely to scale up children’s diet during complementary feeding periods with locally and affordable food in our communities.
She maintained that the organization with other partners are targeting 350 million children to be reach out to yearly until 2030 urging parents especially mothers to embrace the mantra for the well being of their children.