Malnutrition: We Need N29bn to Address Scourge, Says Kaduna Govt

The Kaduna State Government says it needs N29 billion to address the scourge of malnutrition in the state.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the state Permanent Secretary, Planning and Budget Commission, Mr Mahmoud Yamusa, said this in Kaduna on Wednesday, at the opening of a two-day workshop on resource mobilisation.

Yamusa, represented by the Director, Development Aid Coordination, PBC, Mr Salisu Lawal, stressed the need for all relevant stakeholders to support the state in mobilising the needed resources.

He said that various nutrition policies, plans and strategies had been developed by the state, adding that there was a huge gap in financing the planned interventions.

“The state and the local government areas are doing all they can to make the needed resources available, but they cannot do it alone. We need all the support we can get from all stakeholders.

“For example, the Kaduna State Multi-Sectoral Strategic Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition was developed as a tool to implement nutrition-sensitive and specific interventions by the MDAs.

“We, therefore, need resources to ensure that we implement all planned interventions to be able to achieve the 2021 targets,” he said.

The Nutrition Advocacy Advisor, SCI, Malam Isah Ibrahim, commended the state and the local governments for maintaining the more than one-billion-naira annual budget for nutrition interventions. Ibrahim pointed out the N28bn deficit was required to address all malnutrition cases affecting about one million children under five years in the state.

Malnutrition: We need N29bnThe Kaduna State Government says it needs N29 billion to address the scourge of malnutrition in the state.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the state Permanent Secretary, Planning and Budget Commission, Mr Mahmoud Yamusa, said this in Kaduna on Wednesday, at the opening of a two-day workshop on resource mobilisation.

Yamusa, represented by the Director, Development Aid Coordination, PBC, Mr Salisu Lawal, stressed the need for all relevant stakeholders to support the state in mobilising the needed resources.

He said that various nutrition policies, plans and strategies had been developed by the state, adding that there was a huge gap in financing the planned interventions.

“The state and the local government areas are doing all they can to make the needed resources available, but they cannot do it alone. We need all the support we can get from all stakeholders.

“For example, the Kaduna State Multi-Sectoral Strategic Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition was developed as a tool to implement nutrition-sensitive and specific interventions by the MDAs.

“We, therefore, need resources to ensure that we implement all planned interventions to be able to achieve the 2021 targets,” he said.

The Nutrition Advocacy Advisor, SCI, Malam Isah Ibrahim, commended the state and the local governments for maintaining the more than one-billion-naira annual budget for nutrition interventions. Ibrahim pointed out the N28bn deficit was required to address all malnutrition cases affecting about one million children under five years in the state.

NAN