The Commissioner stated this when Save the Children International and the Maternal Neonatal Child Health (MNCH) Coalition in the State paid him an advocacy visit on the need for timely release of funds by the State Government to confront malnutrition among children.
The Commissioner, who described malnutrition as a major problem in developing countries, explained that the problem of malnutrition especially in the rural areas is not that of extreme poverty but that of lack of adequate education or enlightenment.
According to him, most people in the villages suffer in the midst of plenty because they lack awareness of the best ways of feeding and healthy living. He said, “You can imagine a local woman who may have plenty of chicken but would only sell them to solve some other problems while the family eats poorly”.
He assured that the Ministry would do all within its limits to ensure that people are well mobilized on the issue and that programmes that will improve the nutritional needs of children are implemented in the State.
Earlier, Chairman of the Coalition, Comrade Alhassan Yahaya, who is also the Gombe State NUJ Chairman, said Save the Children and the MNCH Coalition’s concern was to ensure collaborative partnership among MDA’s, CSOs and other development partners to combat malnutrition.
He also called on Government to empower health promotion activities to raise awareness on malnutrition and proffer preventive measures, ensure appropriate and timely release of funds for implementation of nutrition programmes.
He called on the State Executive Council to approve the domestication of the food and nutrition policy operational plan, create Agric-Nutrition sensitive budget line, allocate at least, one per cent of the Ministry’s Budget to Nutrition as well as scale up current activities to combat malnutrition at all levels.
Also in her address, the Gombe Field Manager of Save the Children, Altine Lewi stressed the need for a workable policy that is geared towards the improvement of lives of children even as she said Save the Children is involved in a special intervention programme for children in ten communities in the State.
While soliciting for the support of the ministry because of its importance, she called for the sustainability of Governments intervention. The team also went to the State Ministry of Health for the same advocacy where the Commissioner, Dr. Kennedy Ishaya assured that the Ministry is ever ready to make the best use of such programmes in the State.
