Nutrition stakeholders have renewed calls for increased investment in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, describing the period from pregnancy to the second birthday as critical to healthy growth and long-term development.
Nutrition Specialist with the UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Philomena Irene, made the call while highlighting the impact of a United States Government-supported nutrition programme in Bauchi State.
Irene said the intervention had reached more than 40,000 children aged six to 23 months with Small Quantity Lipid-based Nutrient Supplements (SQ-LNS) aimed at preventing malnutrition.
She said the programme had also strengthened community structures and healthcare facilities across the state.
According to her, more than 6,000 Mama2Mama and Fathers for Good Health volunteers had been trained to deliver public health messages, while more than 50 healthcare workers received facility-level training.
The programme also strengthened logistics and health information systems to improve the tracking of nutrition commodities and data.
Irene said the intervention had contributed to the revitalisation of Food and Nutrition Committees at the Local Government Area level, leading to commitments and funding for nutrition commodities, including Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) and micronutrient supplements for pregnant women.
She said advocacy engagements with legislators and local government chairmen were also helping to promote budgetary commitments to nutrition.
Irene explained that the importance of the first 1,000 days went beyond preventing immediate malnutrition.
“This is the period where 75 percent of brain development takes place,” she said, adding that inadequate nutrition during the period could affect children’s development and increase their vulnerability to health problems later in life.
She argued that investing in early childhood nutrition could reduce future expenditure on healthcare, education and other areas.
In Darazo, the impact of such investment is being demonstrated through community volunteers who are helping families detect malnutrition and connect affected children to health services.
Maimuna Wakili, leader of the Mama2Mama Under-5 Primary Healthcare initiative in the area, said volunteers were taking nutrition messages to households and educating mothers on appropriate feeding practices.
She said the programme had contributed to a reduction in malnutrition cases in communities where volunteers operate.
Fathers for Good Health volunteers are also encouraging men to support their wives during pregnancy and after childbirth.
The group’s Darazo East leader, Safiyanu Yahaya, said members educate men on the importance of antenatal care, immunisation and other services necessary for the health of mothers and children.
A beneficiary, Fatima Muhammad of Unguwan Kawada, said her child had begun recovering after receiving RUTF.
She said the programme had also taught mothers how to improve child feeding using locally available ingredients.
Stakeholders say the experience in Darazo demonstrates how investment in nutrition, combined with government support and community participation, can strengthen efforts to prevent child malnutrition and improve child development outcomes.
