13th April, 2017
Photo: Remi Osobu-Asubiojo
Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) has sought for partnership with the Kaduna State Government to reduce the level of malnutrition in the state.
The state Coordinator of the organisation, Mr Silas Ideva, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Thursday.
Ideva explained that malnutrition has remained a serious threat to the optimal development of children in the state.
He said that although the state government had taken various initiatives to address the challenge, it would still require active collaboration of relevant stakeholders to turn around the malnutrition indices in the state.
“To achieve the desired impact, the state government must involve community members, civil society organisations, non governmental organisations, and other relevant stakeholders if it hopes to eliminate malnutrition in the state.
“There is equally the need for multifaceted strategic interventions with a clear implementation road map and a monitoring and evaluation framework, “he said.
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The coordinator said that the organisation had already carried out advocacy visits to the State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Ministry of Women Affairs and that of Budget and Planning.
He explained that the National Strategic Plan of Action for Nutrition has been domesticated in the state, and it contains strategies, roles and responsibilities for respective stakeholders.
According to him, the plan if well implemented, would reduce stunting by 20 per cent and underweight by 15 per cent among children under five years by 2018.
“The plan focuses on six priority areas, namely maternal nutrition, infants and young child feeding, management of severe acute malnutrition, micronutrient deficiency control, diet related non communicable disease and nutrition information system.
“We would continue to reach out to all relevant ministries, departments and agencies in the state to see how as partners we would all work together to ensure the survival and uninterrupted development of children in the state, ” Ideva said.