By:
Aisha Mohammed
Stakeholders have identified rising crisis, weak health systems, and other challenges as major drivers of acute malnutrition-related deaths in Northeastern Nigeria.
They made this known at the inception meeting of a two-year Emergency Nutrition Support initiative launched in Yola by the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF and Adamawa State Government in partnership with Global Affairs Canada to improve nutrition outcomes during the first 1,000 days of life.
The stakeholders further explained that these factors have led to long-term consequences such as educational setbacks and economic burdens, with Adamawa State recording 63 deaths per 1,000 live births in under-five mortality.
The alarming rate prompted the launch of the two-year Emergency Nutrition Support initiative aimed at enhancing institutional capacity and demonstrating strengthened commitment to scaling up high-impact nutrition services across the first 1,000 days of life, considered a critical window for the survival and development of young children.
UNICEF Nutrition Specialist, Bauchi Field Office, Philomena Irene, said Adamawa State’s record of 63 deaths per 1,000 live births, alongside high rates of stunting, anaemia, and under-five mortality, indicates that the state is off track in achieving Sustainable Development Goal Three, SDG 3.
The UNICEF Nutrition Specialist noted that delivering stronger systems for better nutrition practices and sustainable impact would be achieved through training, mentorship, and technical support for the development of evidence-based strategies and implementation plans.
On her part, UNICEF Chief, Bauchi Field Office, Nuzhat Rafique, said the need to strengthen nutrition governance and coordination across all levels of government to deliver high-impact nutrition services is non-negotiable.
Rafique therefore called for support in delivering essential preventive interventions during the first 1,000 days for pregnant women to improve maternal nutrition and birth outcomes.
The Executive Secretary, Adamawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Suleiman Bashir, encouraged members of the community to promote optimal nutrition practices for pregnant and lactating women by ensuring improved access to quality treatment and follow-up care.
The stakeholders revealed that mechanisms have been put in place to address the unethical practice of some individuals engaging in the sale of Small-Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements, 5Q-LNS.
They encouraged members of the public to report such practices with evidence for prompt action.
Present at the inception meeting were traditional and religious leaders, grassroots support groups such as Mama-to-Mama and Fathers for Good Health, as well as other partners who pledged their support towards promoting appropriate feeding practices for children aged six to twenty-three months.
The initiative is expected to deliver stronger systems, better nutrition practices, and strengthened linkages with Government social protection programmes in Demsa and Girei Local Government Areas, while prioritising extremely poor households with pregnant women and children under two years for sustainable impact.
