1,578 malnourished children to benefit from UNICEF therapeutic food in Bauchi

NOT fewer than 1,578 malnourished children suffering from acute malnutrition in Bauchi state are to be treated with therapeutic food, (RUTF) by the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC) and the Bauchi State Government.

This was disclosed on Wednesday by the Director of Physical Planning at the State Ministry of Budget and Planning, Lawal Bako Ahmed while speaking at a one-day capacity building workshop for civil society organisations (COSs) and media on nutrition budget where it was assured that the state government will give priority attention to nutrition issues in the 2019 budget.

Bako Ahmed also lamented that what he saw at one of the primary health centres during administering the RUTF on malnourished children had exposed him to the reality on nutrition pointing out that the visit to the primary health centre had really given him an opportunity to see things at the other side.

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He assured that he is going to submit what he saw at the health centre to the state government, declaring that there is the need to ensure that food is surplus in the state “so we can eradicate malnutrition among children”.

Chairman of CISLAC, Muhammad Murtala, who lectured on nutrition budget tracking, said that breastfeeding is very important for a child, adding that the lack of adequate breastfeeding and good food are some causes of malnutrition among children.

He then urged mothers to include Soya beans, groundnut, milk and beans in the daily diet of their children, declaring that, “by using these for children, malnutrition will be eradicated.”

The head of the Primary Health Centre located at Miri an outskirt of Bauchi metropolis in Bauchi Local Government Area, Doctor Nasiru Jika Miriam, said that the distribution of the RUTF in the centre has not been easy.

According to her, the Centre lacks adequate staff to carry out the distribution exercise, saying that it takes them up to six hours instead of two hours to distribute the food to children.

She also lamented that the centre lacks adequate number of beds to accommodate some of the children who needed to be placed under close watch and called on the state government to not only employ more workers but also renovate the centre.