Plateau govt launches SQ-LNS to combat malnutrition

Plateau State Government has launched the distribution of 5,392 cartons of Small-Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplement (SQ-LNS) to combat malnutrition among vulnerable populations in the state.

This comes as the government commended the laudable initiative of UNICEF in the Child Nutrition Match Fund mechanism that enabled the state to avert irreversible damage to the cognitive, intellectual, and physical development of children.

Speaking at the launch of the Small-Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplement at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Little Rayfield, Jos, the Deputy Governor of the state, Ngo Josephine Piyo, commended UNICEF’s partnership in this regard.

According to her, the state government was pleased to be part of the child-focused investment in preventing malnutrition in children, adding that the key to good health and mental development is appropriate complementary feeding, rich in the correct micronutrients, following exclusive nursing during the first six months of life.

“Having recognised the importance of good and adequate nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life, the state reiterates its commitment to foster significant long-term impacts on children through the implementation of cost-effective nutrition interventions aimed at saving lives and averting childhood suffering,” she said.

The Deputy Governor declared that the initiative aims to prevent malnutrition among children aged 6 to 23 months and will support dietary supplementation for 80,000 children across the state for five months.

In his remarks, UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative, Wafaa Saeed, stated: “As an agency, we are mandated to serve children. I think a very compelling case has been made on malnutrition, on giving children the best future they can have, and children are the future of every community, every nation.”

The Country Representative highlighted that UNICEF is fully committed to supporting the efforts of the government and the efforts of communities in humanitarian projects, hence why it is very important to invest in children who are less than two years old.

“In 2024, Plateau State committed 200,000 US dollars to this project. This is really a significant amount of resources. In UNICEF, we are also fully committed to supporting the leadership and the efforts of the government, and the government in 2025 has also committed 500 million naira,” she said.

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