Severe acute malnutrition: CISLAC charges Gombe legislators on enhanced funding

Gombe State House of Assembly has been urged to see to the need of creating a sustained budget line for the prevention and treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in the state as well as intensify overweight function in the implementation of the budget and policies of nutrition and family health issues.

The call was made on Wednesday by the Executive Director of an NGO, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Ibrahim Rafsanjani while making welcome remarks at a one-day retreat organised for members of  Gombe State of Assembly held at Chartwell Hotel, Bauchi.

The Executive Director who was represented by the Head of Monitoring and Evaluation of CISLAC, Lovelyn Arbor also said that the main objective of taking House members away from their comfort zones was to have their undivided attention so that they could have a deeper knowledge on the current challenges around SAM in Nigerian and Gombe State in particular and explore avenues on how they could fast track appropriate measures to change the current trend in the State.

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He said that “As it is, according to the National Nutrition and Health Survey of 2018, Nigerian has 2.6 Million cases of Severe Acute Malnutrition, with the North East, where Gombe State is located, carrying the highest-burden of 60 per cent of the cases”.

Ibrahim Rafsanjani added that “The survey also indicated that Nigeria records 361,000 deaths from SAM yearly, which translate to 1000 deaths per day, a development he laments is pathetic and must not be allowed to continue considering that it will have a negative impact on the manpower and economic development of the society.

While expressing optimism on the commitment of the House members, Ibrahim Rafsanjani also said that emphasis should also be placed on a preventive approach towards addressing SAM challenges.

Ibrahim Rafsanjani commended the lawmakers for creating time from their tight schedules to attend the retreat, describing the gesture as nothing but commendable.

In a goodwill message, the Gombe State House of Assembly Speaker, Hon. Sadiq Ibrahim assured CISLAC and other partners of the House’s support towards achieving desired goals and objectives in that direction and said that as members representing different communities, they are equally worried about the Menace of SAM in the state.

He said that “As you may be aware, the topmost priority area of our state governor focuses on health, the state of assembly has since keyed into this priority areas of concern to give it all the necessary support. We assure you of our commitment towards improvement and reducing cases of SAM to the barest minimum. We are fully committed to changing the narratives.

A medical expert from Gombe state, Dr David Karatu in a presentation on the current status on Severe Acute Malnutrition in Gombe State, he declared that the situation calls for immediate attention in order to save the lives of innocent children who are the victims.

He commended organizers of the retreat saying that it will not have come at a better time than now when the 2020 budget appropriation implementation is about to begin.

The retreat was organised through a partnership between the International Society of Media in Public Health (ISMPH) and CISLAC for members of the Gombe State House of Assembly and Media partners in Bauchi.