Masari’s Wife Urges FG, States to End Malnutrition

By Francis Sardauna

The wife of the Katsina State Governor, Dr. Hadiza Bello Masari, has urged the federal and state governments to commit more funds to the prevention and treatment of malnutrition afflicting children in order to end the scourge in the country.

She added that all the polices and operational plans enacted by both federal and state governments to tackle malnutrition should also be operationalized and implemented at all levels in order to end the age-long predicament.

The governor’s wife made the call at a press conference she termed “Severe Acute Malnutrition; We only Have Today to Secure Our Tomorrow”, held at the Katsina Local Government Service Commission.

According to her, a growing number of Nigerian children are dying of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and there is urgent need to procure nutrition commodities such as Ready-to-Use Therapeutic (RUTF) for their treatment.

She stated that about two million Nigerian children below the age of five years are currently battling with severe acute malnutrition in different parts of the country, hence the need for all and sundry to unite against the scourge.

She said: “It is because we have failed to handle nutrition issues at the very basic levels that we now have a growing number of children dying of severe acute malnutrition. So there is need to procure nutrition commodities for their treatment.

“The government has demonstrated some degree of commitment in allocation of resources and enactments of policies as well as operational plans to address food and nutrition, there is however the need to ensure that these policies are operationalized and plans implemented at all levels.

“The government also need to demonstrate more commitment and prioritise nutrition in areas of funding for the prevention and treatment of malnutrition at various levels.”

Mrs Masari admonished traditional and religious leaders to play their roles in averting malnutrition by encouraging practices that support women with sustainable means of livelihood and propel men to prioritise family nutrition as a means to economic growth.