Nasarawa Govt committed to tackling malnutrition among children – official

Mr Illiyasu Tunga, Nasarawa State Coordinator of Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN) said they would reduce cases of malnutrition among children and women to its barest minimum in the state.

The state coordinator made the disclosure in an interview on Friday in Lafia.

He said the state government, through ANRiN, had engaged people from all the electoral wards in the 13 Local Government Areas to provide services to the targeted people to reduce malnutrition.

He added that currently they were providing seven services to 1, 869, 385 children, pregnant women and nursing mothers across the state to tackle the scourge.

Tunga said four of the services were being provided for children, while three is to pregnant women and nursing mothers.

“The interventions for children includes; Macro Nutrient Powder, Vitamin-A supplementation, deworming tablet, and Zinc Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS).

“While for pregnant women and nursing mothers, we have Maternal Infant and Young Children Nutrition Counselling, Iron Failing Acid, and Sulfadoxine and Pyrimethamine (Fansider),” he said.

He explained further that with the various interventions, the prevalence rate had reduced, but still waiting for official results from the Federal Government to ascertain the situation at the moment.

The coordinator added that the state had been rated first performing in safeguard against malnutrition in the country by the Federal Ministry of Health.

He said the state was also rated second, in Social Behavioural Change Communication, and third in Coordination of Development Partners, towards reducing the prevalence of malnutrition.

According to him, the ANRiN project is being implemented in 12 states of the country, with high burden of malnourished children and pregnant women, as well as nursing mothers.

He listed the states to include; Nasarawa, Plateau, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Kaduna, Kano, Kasina, Gombe, Abia, Akwa-Ibom, and Oyo.

He explained that the projects started in 2017, when the data of malnutrition across the country was devastating.

“At that time, it was discovered that more than 30 per cent of children between zero to five years, from the mentioned states were malnourished.

“So, the government was concerned about the prevalence rate of malnutrition, and rolled out so many interventions including ANRiN projects, aimed at reducing the scourge,’’he added.

Tunga added that the projects were in four different phases, and that each phase would last for five years.

“The project was initiated in 2017, but the Nasarawa State office, began activities in 2019 and first phase of the programme would end on Dec. 31, 2023.

“The data for Nasarawa State in 2018, revealed that because of lack of Vitamin-A, the burden of malnutrition and stunted growth in Nasarawa State was 33 per cent,” Tunga said.

He, therefore, assured the public that the state government would not relent its efforts until the malnutrition burden was reduced to its barest minimum.