By Philip Yatai

The Nasawara State Government says it will ensure increase in budget allocation and releases for nutrition interventions in its 2020 Budget.

Mr Isa Osama, the state’s Director of Planning, Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning, made the commitment at a two-day Health and Nutrition Budget Meeting in Abuja, on Wednesday.

The meeting was organised by Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), Alive and Thrive (FHI360) and Save the Children International (SCI).

The meeting, with participants from nutrition line ministries, departments and agencies, including lawmakers from Kaduna, Nasarawa and Niger states, was organised to push for improved nutrition funding.

Osama acknowledged that nutrition allocation and releases were grossly inadequate to address the scourge of malnutrition in the state.

“We are aware of the magnitude of malnutrition among women and children under five years in our dear state.

“I am assuring that we will take necessary step to not only increase the budget in 2020 but will equally ensure that the allocated funds are released on time to carry out various nutrition interventions,” the director said.

Earlier, the state’s Nutrition Officer, Mrs. Halima Yusuf, noted that the state had created budge lines for all the line ministries, adding, however, that release has remained the major concern.

Yusuf said that so far, 21 children had died of malnutrition from January to date, while 959 acutely malnourished children have been treated.

She explained that 959 children out of the more than 1000 affected children were admitted in the Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) centers in three local government areas (LGAs) of the state.

She also identified wrong capturing of budget lines for specific nutrition interventions by relevant ministries, departments and agencies and LGAs, as other challenges affecting release of funds for implementation.

“There is also the problem of inadequate number of nutritionists at the primary healthcare centers at the local government level.

“We plan to scale up CMAM centers and Infant and young Child Feeding programme to three additional LGAs; but we need funds to do that,’’ Yusuf added