In recognition of its efforts at fighting acute malnutrition among children under the age of 5 years, Gombe State received two separate awards for its exceptional performance and outstanding commitment to excellence as well as contribution to the success of the implementation of the Pooled Fund project Window 2.
The two awards were presented by the National Secretariat of Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria
(CS-SUNN) through the Coordinator of the CS-SUNN coalition of Gombe State during the end of the project meeting in Abuja.
The CS-SUNN coalition had implemented the project with support from the National Secretariat in the areas of capacity building of community-based organisations (CBOs), health workers, staff of line MDAs, media, religious and traditional leaders on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding.
Other areas were town hall meetings, household economy training for women in communities, and nutrition education and food demonstration during antenatal care.
The programme also carried out support to SCFN meetings, development of sermon notes on nutrition from the Islamic and Christian perspectives.
Recall that, last year, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya received the ‘NUTRITION CHAMPION FOR THE NIGERIAN CHILD’ Award by the International Society of Media in Public Health in recognition of his administration’s disposition towards tackling the menace of malnutrition among children in the State.
Until recently, malnutrition was a major health concern in Gombe State with the attendant classification of the state as one with a high record of children not being able to grow to their potential.
However, with a multi-sectoral approach to addressing the problem instituted by Governor Inuwa Yahaya, Gombe is now leading the way.
The present administration has gone into partnership with UNICEF and relevant partners to provide nutritious food to children through the timely payment of counterpart funding in order to ensure that children in the State do not suffer the needless health challenges associated with malnutrition.
As directed by the Governor, the state’s Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation has developed a formula and is now producing Ready to Use Therapeutic food locally as a way of ensuring permanent solution to the malnutrition challenges in the State as contained in a statement Ismaila Uba Misilli, Director-General, ( Press Affairs)