The United Nations Children Funds (UNICEF) has raised concern with aim to treat 400,000 children under 5 suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition with other 200,000 additional children in the northwest that will require Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) in 2025 compared to 2024.
This was declared in a press briefing at Command Guest Inn Gusau by the UNICEF representative in Zamfara State, Cristian Munduate, explaining that, there is 1.2 million children in the state out of which 250,000 of them suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) a reflection of 1 in every 10 children staring at death.
The UNICEF representative has cried that, over 300,000 children in Sokoto and Zamfara need measles vaccinations and two million vulnerable people in the two recorded states require access to medical treatment and counseling on nutritious diets.
Munduate further pointed that, wasting affects 1 in 10 children, while stunting among children aged 0 to 5 years is at an alarming 45.2% as neonatal mortality rate is 42 per 1,000 live births.
“Only 21.5% of pregnant women attended 4+ antenatal visits, and institutional deliveries stand at a mere 15%.
It is shocking, that out of 62,000 pregnant women, only 13% of the total, have access to skilled birth attendants.
“Immunization rates remain critically low, with Penta 3 coverage at just 9.6%.
Over 700,000 children—62%—are out of school, and 60% of girls are subjected to child marriage, perpetuating the cycle of poverty” Cristian has said.
According to her, to effectively address these challenges, there is dire need for the governments at all levels to expand healthcare services and strengthen community health programs with scaling up nutrition interventions and promote child spacing initiatives to tackle the underlying challenge of rapid population growth.
Adding that the governments should also “Integrate nutrition into primary healthcare services. Promote inclusive education and improve school infrastructure, and enhance routine immunization to protect children from preventable diseases”.
“The numbers we face are staggering, nearly 5.4 million children under five in the northwest and northeast are suffering from acute malnutrition, with projections indicating an additional one million cases by April 2025.
She also recommended that, the situation demands immediate action, collaboration, and commitment, “Together, we can save lives, restore hope, and build a brighter future for the children of Zamfara and beyond”.