By Muhammad Nasir

Sokoto, Sept.1, 2021

USAID has trained at least 65 members of Sifawa Community in Bodinga Local Government Area of Sokoto State on how to prepare nutritious meals using locally-available food.

The training, conducted in collaboration with an NGO, Breakthrough Action Nigeria, aims at saving pregnant women and children from malnutrition and other food-related infections.

Mr. Nura Aminu, the Acting Sokoto State Coordinator of the NGO, said at the close of the training on Wednesday that the programme was part of its intervention to address malnutrition.

“We are trying to promote the use of four star meals, which are four categories of food that when we combine them, we will be able to get nutritious foods.

“These are locally produced foods and can help in boosting the nutrition of children and mothers as all the required nutrients needed are contained in the formula,’’ he said.

Aminu called on the state government to appreciate the intervention and sustain the programme in order to reverse the increasing number of malnourished children.

“Currently, we have a lot of malnutrition cases across Sokoto State and if people can understand the concept of four star meals, it will positively help in reducing the rate,’’ he added.

Earlier, Hajiya Asabe Shehu, Nutrition Officer in charge of women and children, State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Sokoto, appreciated the NGO’s intervention on malnutrition.

Shehu said malnutrition challenges in the state arose from the fact that people did not know how to make the available food nutritious.

The representative of Sifawa Village Head, Alhaji Nasiru Bello, commended the NGO for choosing the community to pilot the project and assured of the leaders’ continuous encouragement toward sustaining the gesture.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the highlight of the ceremony was a competition on nutritious food preparation by tree groups in the community.

These include Men’s group that came first at the competition with 27 points, followed by Lafiya Jari group with 25 points and Mata Masu Hadinkai that scored 22 points.