420,000 children die annually from severe acute malnutrition

It has been revealed that not fewer than 420,000 children die annually from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) scourge in Nigeria, a development that is alarming and needs to be checked immediately.

This revelation was made during a two-day advocacy training aimed at equipping Journalists and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on the menace of Severe  Acute Malnutrition (SAM) as a child killer epidemic and the need to take measures in reversing the trend in Bauchi particularly and the country at large.

While addressing participants at the commencement of the training held at the Command Guest House, Bauchi on Thursday, an official of the  International Society of Media in Public Health (ISMPH) Mr. Solomon Dogo said that the main objective of the training was to expose  Journalists  and the CSOs to the SAM epidemic in Nigeria and secure their commitments towards using the Media to hold policymakers accountable on SAM prevention and treatment through intense and sustained reportage on SAM.

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Solomon Dogo who represented the Executive Director of ISMPH, Moji Makanjuola described the media as a key stakeholder in influencing policy change, saying that the  ISMPH in collaboration with other partners put together the training to “better articulate the role media could play in holding policymakers accountable in support of SAM prevention and treatment”.

He added that a 2017 UNICEF report has estimated that 2.5 Million under five years Nigerian children suffer Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) every year, with nearly 420,000 of them dying annually.

In his presentation, a resource person, Dr. Grace Onotu, while making a presentation, also said that according to a 2018 SMART Survey, the largest percentage of SAM burden is concentrated in the North East with 8.7  percent prevalence , North-West 8.3 percent,  South-West 6.8 percent, South-East 5.6 percent , while the South-South  has 6.7 and the North-Central with the least of 4.9 per cent.

Another facilitator, Mr Edosa Oviawe, disclosed that the training will feature presentations, group work exercise and field visits to CMAM sites in Bauchi State for first-hand information on the scourge of SAM.

The Aisha Buhari Foundation (ABF) called on the participants to contribute in the fight against SAM through sustained reportage of nutritional issues as well as advocacy for prompt release of budgetary allocation on health-related activities.

The training is being conducted in partnership with International Society of Media in Public Health (ISMPH), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC), Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED) and Aisha Buhari Foundation (ABF).

Our correspondent also reports that the training attracted participants from the print and electronic media and the CSOs.