By Chiangi Avese, from Makurdi
Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), has urged the Benue state government to invest more in nutrition to better the wellbeing of the people.
In a statement issued by CS-SUNN's, Executive Secretary, Mr. Okoronkwo Sunday over the weekend said, recent statistics revealed that there is a high level of child malnutrition with stunning at 25.3 %, wasting at 6.7% and underweight at 13.6%
It identified malnutrition as a critical public health and development challenge in Benue State, that calls for more funding.
The statement appealed to the government to fully fund, operationalize, and track BSMPFAN and sub-national coordination down to local government areas to curb the impending health calamity that could ensued.
According to the statement, despite strong agricultural potential in the state, there is persistent high level of child malnutrition.
The statement reads, "Is alongside widespread household food insecurity, and these conditions undermine child survival, learning outcomes, workforce productivity, and long-term economic growth".
It calls for more investment in nutrition, CS-SUNN, saying globally and national evidence consistently shows that malnutrition weakens human capital and suppresses earnings, while timely investments in maternal, infant, and young child nutrition, especially, during the first 1,000 days of life deliver high returns through improved health, cognition, and productivity.
In seeking urgent action for increased nutrition financing and effective implementation for the Benue State multisectoral plan of action for food and nutrition BSMPFAN, CS-SUNN asks for sustainable domestic financing for nutrition, including leveraging innovative mechanism such as the child Nutrition Fund (CNF); timely release and efficient utilization of budgeted nutrition fund; and scale up high-impact maternal and child nutrition interventions, with emphasis on exclusive breastfeeding and comprehensive support across the first 1000 days of life.
CS-SUNN called on the government to increase nutrition budgets across health, agriculture, education, water and sanitation and ensure predictable, and on-time fund releases; extend paid maternity leave from three to six months across the public sector and encourage adoption in the private sector to enable breastfeeding and improve child survival; integrate nutrition into primary healthcare, social safety nets, and climate-resilient agriculture, build fromtline capacity, and improve data for decision making.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget, Economic and Planning who is also the Chairman Food and Nutrition in Benue State, Mr. Orinya Ogenyi, pledged the support of Gov. Hyacinth Alia assuring that action would be taking to mitigate the rise malnutrition in the state.
It called on the media in the State to elevate nutrition and food security as development priorities through sustained evidence based reporting, track budget commitments, releases and results, and to amplify messages on breastfeeding, complementary feeding, and maternal nutrition to counter misinformation and shift social behaviors.
