5,000 Nasarawa children suffer malnutrition

Chief Nutrition Officer in Nasarawa State, Hajiya Halima Yusuf has disclosed that between 2014 and 2020, no fewer than 5, 200 children were admitted to various hospitals across the state as a result of severe acute malnutrition.

She stated this in Lafia during a high-level advocacy dialogue on nutrition.

The nutrition officer said cases of malnutrition and other related conditions; especially stunted growth and wasting in children had continued to rise over the years.

She further explained that out of the number of children admitted to various health care centres across the state, 81 of them died while over 2,000 recovered.

The wife of Nasarawa State Governor Hajiya Silifat Abdullahi Sule, who declared the session open advocated for proper nutrition for expectant and nursing mothers.

She added that the positive effect is not just on the mothers but also on their babies.

Executive Secretary, Civil Society - Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) Mrs Beatrice Eluaka described the rate of malnutrition in the state as alarming.

She stressed the need for the state government to adopt the local solution to address the trend rather than depending on foreign assistance.

Mrs Eluaka reiterated the CS-SUNN’s readiness to match on to champion the course of nutrition in Nasarawa State and Nigeria in general.