Nasarawa Children Suffering from Anemia

Nasarawa Children Suffering from Anemia

The Civil Society-Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) has said that 67.9% of children under five years in Nasarawa State were suffering from anemia. Executive Secretary of SC-SUNN, Beatrice Eluaka, gave the statistics yesterday in Lafia at a one-day media roundtable on Micronutrient Deficiency Control (MNDC) SC-SUNN organised for media practitioners in Nasarawa State.

The SC-SUNN Executive Secretary, who was represented by the Project Officer, Mary Ajakaye, added that 65.1% of women of reproductive age were equally anaemic, hence describing the figures as unacceptable as she called for deliberate actions to address the situation. According to her, “the provision of routine services in Primary Health Care centres should be prioritise as this will promote distribution of Micronutrient Powder, Iron/Folic Acid supplements and Zinc including Vitamin A supplementation for pregnant women and children respectively,” Eluaka said:

“We call on the Nasarawa State Government to scale up not only the provision of supplements to hard-to-reach areas and across health facilities during the MNCH week, but also counseling to ensure compliance.” She concluded that CS-SUNN had supported the Nasarawa Committee on Food and Nutrition to develop and cost the state’s plan.

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