The Kaduna State Committee on Food and Nutrition (SCFN) says it is strengthening the coordination of nutrition interventions to address malnutrition among women, children, and adolescents.
The Chairman of the committee, Malam Bashir Muhammad, gave the assurance in Kaduna on Wednesday at a two-day quarterly review meeting of the SCFN.
The review of the 4th quarter of 2022 and 1st quarter of 2023 was organized by the Planning and Budget Commission (PBC), with support from
the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Muhammad, who is also the Permanent Secretary, of PBC, said the state government was impressed with the achievements of the committee in the fight against malnutrition in spite of challenges.
He thanked development partners for supporting the state to improve nutrition indices among women, children, and adolescents.
According to him, strengthening the coordination of nutrition activities will ensure the continuity and sustainability of the committee’s activities.
He said “We are happy that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Sen. Uba Sani won the Kaduna State governorship election.
“This will ensure the continuity of Gov. Nasir El-Rufai-led administration’s reforms in the nutrition sector.
“With this development, we are certain that the committee will continue to carry out its roles and in the long run improve the nutrition indices.”
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Dr. Zainab Muhammad-Idris, the Project Manager, of World Bank-supported Accelerating Nutrition Result in Nigeria (ANRiN), also commended the committee for changing the malnutrition narratives in the state.
Muhammad-Idris said consistent review meetings of the committee provided the platform to share ideas, experiences, and achievements and develop strategies to move the nutrition agenda.
She reiterated ANRiN’s continued support of quality, cost-effective nutrition services for pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls, and children under five years of age.
She said, “We will continue to work with partners to win the war against malnutrition.”
Also, Mrs. Sarah Kwasu, Alive and Thrive Zonal Coordinator (Kaduna and Bauchi states), said that regular review meetings were critical to building on the progress recorded.
Kwasu urged members of the committee from the various nutrition-line Ministries, Department, and Agencies (MDAs) to intensify efforts toward implementing planned nutrition activities in line with the State Multisectoral Strategic Plan of Action on Nutrition (KDMSPAN).
Earlier, Mrs. Linda Yakubu, the Director, of Development Aid Coordination, PBC, said that the major objective of the review meeting was to collate updates on nutrition interventions from implementing MDAs.
Yakubu added that the meeting was also to build the capacity of Nutrition Desk Officers in MDAs on optimal nutrition modeling and introduce participants to biofortification recipes.
“We will also deliberate and come up with key messages for the proposed nutrition billboard as outlined in the KDMSPAN,” she said.
