Bauchi State Government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have jointly committed N600 million to tackle child and maternal malnutrition across the state, the Executive Chairman of the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Board has disclosed.
The chairman said the intervention followed rising cases of malnutrition linked largely to inflation and worsening economic conditions, rather than poverty alone.
According to him, the state government contributed N300 million while UNICEF provided a matching N300 million to procure nutritional commodities for children and pregnant women.
He explained that 4,842 cartons of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) had already been distributed to health facilities to treat severe acute malnutrition, while an additional 15,000 cartons of Small Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements (SQLNS) were supplied to prevent malnutrition among children.
He said Bauchi became the first state in Nigeria to deploy state funds to procure preventive nutrition commodities after a federal survey identified the state among seven with high malnutrition burdens.
The chairman noted that distribution of the supplements is ongoing, targeting vulnerable communities and healthy children at risk of slipping into malnutrition.
He further revealed that Governor Bala Mohammed has increased the state’s nutrition allocation from N300 million to N500 million in the current fiscal year, paving the way for an anticipated N1 billion nutrition intervention in partnership with UNICEF.
According to him, the government is also strengthening monitoring mechanisms through electronic tracking systems and trained personnel to ensure transparency in distribution and utilization of nutrition commodities.
He described the nutrition programme as a critical investment in the future of the state’s children and mothers, stressing that no society can prosper if its young population suffers from preventable malnutrition.
