Kaduna: Food, nutrition committee strengthens coordination to address malnutrition

Kaduna State Committee on Food and Nutrition (SCFN) says it is strengthening the co-ordination of nutrition interventions to address malnutrition among women, children, and adolescents in the state.

The Chairman of the committee, Malam Bashir Muhammad, gave the assurance in Kaduna on Wednesday, at a two-day quarterly review meeting of the group.

The two-day meeting organised by the Planning and Budget Commission (PBC) with support from United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) was aimed at reviewing both the 4th quarter of 2022 and the 1st quarter of 2023.

Muhammad, who is also the Permanent Secretary of the commission, said the state government was impressed with the achievements of the committee in the fight against malnutrition given the challenges.

He expressed appreciation to development partners for supporting the state in improving the nutrition indices among women, children, and adolescents.

According to him, strengthening co-ordination of nutrition activities will ensure continuity and sustainability of the committee’s activities in the state.

“We are happy that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Sen. Uba Sani has won the gubernatorial election in the state,” he said.

“This will ensure the continuity of the Gov. Nasir El-Rufai-led administration’s laudable reforms in the nutrition sector.

“With this development, we are certain that the committee will continue to carry out its coordinating role and in the long run, improve the nutrition indices in the state,” he added.

Dr Zainab Muhammad-Idris, Project Manager, of World Bank-supported Accelerating Nutrition Result in Nigeria (ANRiN), also praised the committee for changing the malnutrition narratives in the state.

Muhammad-Idris said that consistent review meetings of the committee provided the platform to share ideas, experiences, and achievements and develop strategies to move the nutrition agenda in the state.

She reiterated ANRiN continued support to increasing the utilisation of quality, cost-effective nutrition services for pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls, and children under five years of age.

“We will continue to work with all partners to win the war against malnutrition in the state,” she said.

Also, Mrs Sarah Kwasu, Alive and Thrive Zonal Coordinator (Kaduna and Bauchi States), said that the regular review meetings of the SCFN were critical to building on the progress being recorded.

Kwasu urged members of the committee from the various nutrition-line Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to intensify efforts in implementing planned nutrition activities in line with the State Multisectoral Strategic Plan of Action on Nutrition (KDMSPAN).

Earlier, Mrs Linda Yakubu, Director of Development Aid Coordination, PBC, said the objective of the review meeting was to collate updates on nutrition interventions from implementing MDAs.

Yakubu added that the meeting was also organised to build the capacity of Nutrition Desk Officers in MDAs on optimal nutrition modeling and introduce participants to biofortification recipes.

“We will also deliberate and come up with a key message for a proposed nutrition billboard as outlined in the KDMSPAN,” she said.