The Commissioner for Health in Kano, Abubakar Labaran, has issued a stern warning to nutrition health workers, stating that anyone caught diverting, stealing, or selling Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) and Ready-To-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), meant for free distribution across the state, will face arrest and prosecution.
Dr. Labaran delivered this warning on Wednesday while addressing the press at the project closeout for the Accelerating the Scale of Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) intervention in Kano, which is managed by FHI 360’s Alive and Thrive initiative.
“We discovered that a lot of the RUTF and MMS are being stolen partly in connivance with some of our staff, while others take it to market or pharmacies,” he said.
Dr. Labaran therefore added that “I have met with all the security agents and they are on the lookout, wherever it is seen being sold, outside our office, they should be arrested”.
According to him, “The state government and the UNICEF have invested over N1 billion to purchase MMS to fight stunting that is said to be affecting about 59.1 percent of young children in the state.
“The product is not for sale, it is supplied free by the Kano state government and the UNICEF.
“That is why I am appealing to them to desist from the form of stealing or abuse of these therapeutic foods.
Dr. Labaran therefore noted that “These products are life-saving products to provide the required diet against malnutrition in children.
He commended the fhi360 for what they have done in Kano in the past years, they have been in collaboration.
Speaking on the Project Closeout, the state team leader, Dr. Ashuru Hamza Muhammad, mentioned the achievements of the FHI360 Alive and Thrive in the last four years, partnering with the Kano state government.
According to him, “through the intervention of the project, they have been able to reduce the rate of anaemia among women in reproductive age, which was 58 percent as at 2018, as well as bring down the rate of stunting among young children, which reduced to 40 percent in the last three years.”
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