State legislators in the nineteen northern states Houses of Assembly has been called upon to as a matter of necessity collaborate with the media and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in their respective states in order to join hands in addressing challenges of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) which is currently on the rise in Nigeria, particularly in the North.
The call was made by the program manager of International Society of Media in Public Health (ISMPH), Solomon Dogo while addressing members of the Gombe State House of Assembly during a retreat on malnutrition held in Bauchi says that it is another effort towards mitigating malnutrition in Nigeria with particular focus on the North.
During the retreat which was held at Chartwell hotel, Bauchi, Solomon Dogo informed the Gombe state lawmakers that ISMPH and other partners have built the capacities of media and CSOs in reporting issues bordering on Nutrition stressing that a collaboration between them and the legislators would make things easier for the lawmakers as, according to him, information regarding malnutrition in their respective constituencies will be brought to them easily.
He stated that “When you are adequately briefed on the status of nutrition by the media and CSOs, it will assist you in making informed decisions towards the prevention and treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in your respective constituencies”.
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The ISMPH representative also shared some of the experiences in a similar retreat organised for legislators from Jigawa State, where he disclosed that “at the end of the retreat, having been presented with the alarming statistics as a results of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), the Jigawa lawmakers pledged the sum of N150 Million from their constituency project funds for the procurement of RUTF to complement government efforts in that direction.
The ISMPH Program Manager also said that he hoped at the end of the retreat, there will be something concrete and positive from the Gombe lawmakers, especially looking at the geopolitical position of the state, being part of the North East, is carrying the highest-burden of malnutrition in the country.
“Donor agencies that were supplying RUTF are now withdrawing. State governments should now be the ones procuring the RUTF because that is the only treatment for Severe Acute Malnutrition. So, adequate funding and releases for prevention and treatment of SAM should be among the priority lists of State Governments, he further stressed.
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