A nutrition alliance, Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), celebrated its 10-year anniversary on Tuesday while advocating for more cash releases to tackle malnutrition in Kaduna State.
The State Coordinator of CS-SUNN in Kaduna, Jessica Bartholomew, made the call at a one-day media dialogue with the theme ‘A Decade of Nutrition Advocacy: Reflecting on the Past and Shaping the Future’.
She explained that in 2018, the amount of money allocated for nutrition in the state was less than N2 billion, but currently it is going for N5 billion.
“What we will continue to fight for is an increase in the amount of releases that will be utilised for nutrition interventions.
”This will reduce the number of children dying of malnutrition and protect the lives of pregnant women with multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS).
“We want the government to procure enough ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) and MMS for curative use.
”And also to invest in agriculture to ensure food security and livelihood activities, and also to invest in water sanitation and hygiene to take care of the preventive aspect of malnutrition,” Bartholomew said.
She stressed that when the government prioritises nutrition interventions, it protects the lives of children and thereby improves the human capital development of the state.
Bartholomew added, ”Amidst the current economic crises, we have found that the number of children who are wasted and admitted to the Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) centres is increasing.
“But quite a number of the children are recovering; however, a high number are malnourished.”
Speaking on CS-SUNN’s seven years of existence in the state, Bartholomew said they made giant strides in supporting it to move for legislation for six-month paid maternity leave and ensuring that MDAs have creches for lactating mothers, among others.
She thanked all their stakeholders and the government agencies for their support in ensuring CS-SUNN actualizes its mandate.
Also, Hajiya Aisha Muhammad, the Director, Development Aid Coordination of the State’s Planning and Budget Commission, said it was a wonderful experience working with CS-SUNN in Kaduna for the seven years of their existence in the state.
She assured CS-SUNN of the state government’s commitments towards eradicating malnutrition, stunting, and waste while collaborating with them alongside other relevant partners in achieving the goal.
Muhammad also assured that cash backing would be improving, while disclosing that Gov. Uba Sani has approved and released some of the funds for nutrition and more would be released in the middle of the year.
Also, Malam Sani Hassan, the Technical Adviser to Kaduna State Emergency Nutrition Action Plan (KADENAP), lauded CS-SUNN for their commitment and resilience in the pursuit of their goals aimed at suppressing malnutrition in the state.
He said that over years, the fight against malnutrition had recorded significant success, although some challenges were still being faced .
“Food is the first medication for human beings; now governments everywhere in the world are aware of the importance of nutritional foods in the fight against malnutrition, Sani said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that CS-SUNN is a non-profit-making coalition made up of organisations with a shared vision to transform Nigeria into a country where every citizen has food and nutrition is secured.
They pursue this lofty goal by engaging government and non-state actors to raise awareness, sustain commitment, and take actions to effectively tackle undernutrition in Nigeria.
The coalition was formally launched on the 7th of August, 2014.(NAN)
