The Project Manager of Kaduna Emergency Nutrition Action Plan (KADENAP), Umar Bambale, has urged Nutrition Focal Persons (NFPs) in the state to be diligent in enhancing nutrition while reminding them of sanctions for laxity.
Bambale made the call to the NFPs from the 23 LGAs of the state at a two-day Quarterly Coordination and Review meeting on Monday in Zaria LGA.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the State Committee on Food and Nutrition (SCFN), domiciled at the state’s Planning and Budget Commission (PBC), that convened the quarterly coordination and review meeting, was supported by UNICEF.
Bambale lamented that malnutrition was rising amidst the soaring economy which has permeated the country as a whole.
He, however, said, ”When the NFPs perform their duties diligently, the rising cases of malnutrition will be tamed, resulting from multiple efforts and activities that could avert cases.”
The project manager decried that most of the NFPs do not go to their Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) sites at their respective LGAs.
He said sanctions, which included query, would begin to be issued down through the hierarchy to the NFPs, adding, ”they don’t have any other duty than nutrition in their LGAs.
“Your primary duties is to ensure that nutrition services are carried out according to plans at your LGAs.
”We know what is currently happening in the country, and that is what is also happening to malnutrition. We must however, do our best to tackle in the state.”
Earlier, the Deputy Director, Development Aid Coordination, Mrs Priscilla Dariya, said the overall objective of the review meeting was to review and update all nutrition activities in the 23 LGAs.
She added that it was specifically to document the current nutrition activities in the LGAS as well as document the barriers and opportunities for optimal nutrition practices.
Also, the Deputy Director said the meeting was aimed at improving the capacity of the members on how to implement nutrition activities in the LGAs.
Dariya advocated behavioral change towards positive living and the coordination of nutrition activities across all the LGAs.
In a goodwill message, the Zonal Coordinator, Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board, Zone ‘ll’ Malam Lawal Hayatudeen and the representative of Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Malam Sani Hassan, stressed the importance of nutrition to the society.
According to them, the pointer of development in the society is nutrition, while urging the NFPs to be hardworking.
This is to improve nutrition activities at their respective LGAs for the betterment of the population and the state in general.
Also, the representative of the Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), a nutrition alliance, Ayim Celestina, described malnutrition as a developmental issue.
She, therefore, said the meeting would go a long way in addressing the challenges faced by NFPs in reducing malnutrition and tackling new incidence in the state.
Celestina urged the NFPs and other stakeholders to be committed to the cause of nutrition in the state for a better, healthier and productive population.
NAN reports that other stakeholders in the meeting included Harvest Plus and Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRIN) Project, among others.(NAN)
