By Philip Yatai

The Civil Society-Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), on Thursday, engaged journalists to support and promote Maternal, Infant and Young Child Feeding (MIYCF) practices in Kaduna.

The Coordinator of the coalition, Mr Silas Ideva, explained at the opening of the engagement that the goal was to increase the needed awareness around nutrition issues in the state.

Ideva said that the meeting was organised under the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Pooled Fund Window II project.

According to him, the meeting is key in mobilising the media to ensure increased and consistent nutrition reportage, with a view to addressing the disturbing malnutrition indices in the state.

He added that “some of the underlying issues that the media will help address include poor maternal nutrition, poor infant and young child feeding practices, inadequate health services and limited access to nutritious foods.

”The World Health Organisation recommends that infants should not be given any form of complementary food until six months of age.

”But the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey of 2017 revealed that only 27 per cent of infants are exclusively fed in Kaduna State,” he said.

He further noted that efforts toward tackling the scourge of malnutrition, using the state’s Multi-sectoral Strategic Plan of Action for Nutrition (KDMSPAN) had been very slow.

Ideva pointed out that the outbreak of COVID-19 had equally complicated the situation, by constricting available resources for nutrition and health interventions.

The coordinator explained that the SUN Movement Pooled Fund was a source of resources for funding innovative projects to support multi-sectoral stakeholder platforms in SUN Countries.

According to him, the goal is to increase the effectiveness and impact of national efforts to end malnutrition in all its forms.

Mrs Chinwe Ezeife, Nutrition Specialist, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Kaduna Office, described adequate food intake and healthy nutritional practices as the “foundation blocks” for healthy and productive nation.

Ezeife said that the scourge of malnutrition, manifested as undernutrition, overnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, was severe among infants, children, adolescents, pregnant and lactating women.

He said “the multifaceted challenges of nutrition are caused by institutional weaknesses, food insecurity, inadequate care and access to health services and poor maternal infant and young child feeding practices.

“Despite significant improvement recorded in the last five years, the state remained among the list of 14 states with disturbing nutrition indices,” she said.

The nutrition specialist said that the objective of the strategy for maternal, infant and young child nutrition would accelerate implementation of key interventions to promote, protect and support nutrition practices.

This, according to her, will improve the health and survival of mothers, new-born, infants, young children and adolescent girls.

On her part, Mrs Sarah Kwasu, State Team Lead, Alive and Thrive (Fhi 360), said that media engagement was critical to promoting optimal MIYCF practices.

She noted the need for training and retraining of journalists to equip them with the needed knowledge and skills for effective reportage of nutrition issues.

Similarly, Mr Isah Ibrahim, Nutrition Advocacy Advisor, Save the Children International, also stressed critical role of media in promoting good nutrition practices among adolescent, infant, and young children for healthy growth and development.

He commended CS-SUNN for the efforts and pledged stronger partnership for effective advocacy to address the scourge of malnutrition in the state.