Nasarawa govt committed to providing children nutritional needs ― Perm Sec

NASARAWA State Government says it is committed to providing the nutritional needs of children and pregnant women in the state in order to improve their health status.

Mr Emmanuel Alidzi, the Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning, restated the commitment on Wednesday during the state stakeholders meeting on nutrition in Karu.

Alidzi, represented by the ministry’s Director of Planning, Mr Isah Abdul, said that the meeting, among other things, was to discuss 2019 to 2023 multi-sectoral nutritional plan of the state.

He said that the five years the nutritional plan was made to attain optimal nutrition status among the people of the state, especially children under five years and pregnant women.

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According to him, the document would serve as a working tool to also guide local governments and development areas in providing the nutritional needs of the children.

“The meeting is aimed at demonstrating, understanding and recommending the multi-sectoral nutritional strategies of the state.

“It is equally to explain the significance of the document with a view to improving the nutritional needs of children.

“The state government is committed to improving the nutritional needs of children and pregnant women.

“This is to improve on their health status and standard of living because a healthy nation is a wealthy nation,” he said.

Alidzi appreciated the efforts of the players and experts in nutrition for contributing positively to the development of the health sector in the state and called for its sustenance.

The permanent secretary restated the ministry’s commitment to keying into positive policies and programmes that would have a direct bearing on the lives of the people of the state.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some of the players and experts in nutrition who spoke during the meeting commended the state government for organising the meeting and called for its sustenance.