Emir of Kano advocates national agency for nutrition

EMIR of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II has called for the establishment of an independent national body to handle issues of nutrition in the country.

Sanusi who made the call at a conference in Abuja on Wednesday explained that if some communicable diseases could have national agencies, there should also be a body or an agency focusing on nutrition to address malnutrition in the country.

He said most diseases affecting children, had malnutrition as an underline cause, hence the need to tackle that head-on.

ALSO READ: Okorocha congratulates Buhari’s victory at tribunal

According to him, the only solution is to have an institutional and funding arrangement for nutrition.

“For instance, the children that have diarrhoea, cholera, the underlined cause is always malnutrition.

“I visit children hospital every year in Kano and 70 per cent of the children you see there are those affected by malnutrition.

“Nutrition contributes to the brain development of a child, and children that are not well fed can never be medical doctors, lawyers and engineers among others.

“There are a million deaths recorded in villages due to malnutrition and it is unfortunate that there are no departments in ministries dedicated to the issue of malnutrition,” the Emir said.