By Philip Yatai

The Kaduna State Government on Thursday officially launched its Policy on Food and Nutrition and Multi-Sectoral Strategic Plan of Action on Nutrition (KDMSPAN), 2020-2024, as part of efforts to address malnutrition in the state.

Inaugurating the policy and the KDMSPAN in Kaduna, Gov. Nasir El-Rufai noted that the problem of malnutrition required immediate action.

El-Rufai, who was represented by the Commissioner of Health, Dr Amina Muhammad-Baloni, said that the policy outlined the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders in its implementation.

He added that the KDMSPAN reflects the multi-sectoral dimension of nutrition and the multi-sectoral approach designed to address the scourge.

“Our goal is to ensure that the policy is fully operational in the state, and that all activities outlined in  KDMSPAN are fully implemented.

“I call on all stakeholders, particularly development partners and the organised private sector, to commit their resources and efforts, to the realisation of the goals and objectives of the policy and the plan.

“The government will make effort to ensure that all line Ministries, Departments and Agencies, as well as the 23 local government areas, access the funds allocated for nutrition in the budget,” he said.

In his remarks, the Commissioner of Planning and Budget Commission, Mr Thomas Gyang, thanked Civil Society-Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) for supporting the official launch of the documents.

Gyang said that the policy was in line with the state’s vision of ensuring that all people were nutritionally adequate and food secured through a string of multi-sectoral collaboration and sustainable interventions.

He said that in spite of the constraint of funding, government was committed to ensuring development through the implementation of sensitive and specific intervention activities in the state.

Similarly, the Chief of Staff to Gov. El-Rufai, Mr Muhammad Abdullahi, popularly known as Dattijo, described the incidence of malnutrition among children in the state as an “irony” considering the huge agricultural produce in the state.

Dattijo said that food insecurity and malnutrition place the people of the state at a disadvantage in the future, stressing that food and nutrition were critical components of society’s human capital development.

According to him, the food and nutrition policy and the strategic plan of action were part of efforts to kick malnutrition out of Kaduna State.

Dr Zainab Muhammad-Idris, Project Coordinator, Accelerating Nutrition Result in Nigeria, explained that the KDMSPAN sets out realistic and achievable goals and objectives.

According to her, the goals and objectives will be the driving force behind all the actions and activities of nutrition intervention in the state.

“The overall goal of the plan is to improve the nutritional status of people in the state, particularly children below the age of 23 months, lactating mothers, pregnant women, and adolescents,” she said.

She stated that the state required N1.4 billion to implement the plan to achieve the set target.

Also speaking, Mr Sunday Okoronkwo, CS-SUNN’s Project Manager, said that much needed to be done in spite of the milestone being achieved in the fight against malnutrition in the state.

Okoronkwo particularly said that the state needed about N5billion to treat severe acute malnourished children at N60,800 per child.

He said that so far, only N100 million was cash backed, out of the N300 million allocated for nutrition intervention in 2020, adding that needed funds must be mobilised to implement the policy and the KDMSPAN.(NAN)