Nasarawa state on red alert, as 53 per cent children malnourished

THE attention of Nasarawa state government has been drawn to the realistic statistics rating 53 per cent of under-five children in the state as malnourished.

Executive Secretary, Beatrice Eluaka, Civil Society Scaling Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) revealed this on Tuesday in Lafia during one-day media pally to improve salience of nutrition, urging the State Government to prioritise nutrition of its citizens in order to stop the increasing rate.

According to Eluaka, the government needs to improve the nutrition of the children in order to enable them attain their full potentials.

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“Most children with nutritional problem will end up as artisans instead of becoming Medical Doctors, Journalists, Lawmakers, Governors among others which may be their full potentials,” Eluaka said.

She also urged the Nasarawa State to improve budgetary allocation to nutritional related issues and ensure prompt release of the allocation as the only way of reducing malnutrition.

The Executive Secretary, therefore, called on the media to rise up to their responsibility of educating the public on nutritional issues and get the policymakers to do the needful towards curtailing malnutrition.

Similarly, Mercy Asso Nasarawa State Coordinator of CS-SUNN said malnutrition was responsible for most of the childhood death in the state.

She added that based on the records available to them, 33 children died due to malnutrition in the state in 2017.

She therefore called on the government and other stakeholders to put all hands on deck to improve the nutritional status of the citizens.

On her part, Lilian Ajahmong, Communication Officer of CS-SUNN, said that the organisation has offices in 20 states including Abuja the Federal Capital.

Ajahmong, therefore, called on the Nasarawa State Government to increase maternity leave to six months to enable mothers administer exclusive brace feeding.