Kaduna State government says it has treated 5,573 Severe Acute Malnourished (SAM) children out of 7,075 admitted at Community Management of Acute Malnutrition sites across the state between January and May.https://scudnewsng.com
The Assistant State Nutrition Officer, Mr George Adam made this known on Thursday, while presenting an overview on the nutrition status of the state at a quarterly review meeting in Zaria.
The meeting with Nutrition Focal Persons in the 23 Local Government Areas of the state was organized by the Planning and Budget Commission (PBC) with support from the UNICEF.
Adam explained that the cure rate between January and May was 78.8 percent, above the 75 per cent target.
He said a total of 71,653 SAM children had been cured out of the 96,403 admitted between 2017 and May 2021, representing 74.3 percent cure rate in spite of challenges by COVID-19.
The official, however, said that 1,041 were yet to recover, 9,459 defaulted on treatment, 1,373 died of the disease and 1,478 referred to stabilization centers, while others were still undergoing treatment.
Adam said, so far, 77 Primary Healthcare Centers were providing out-patient therapeutic programmes for Community Management of Acute Malnutrition in 15 Local Government Areas.
“We also have 17 secondary facilities as stabilization centers.
“On community mobilisation, a total of 1,540 Community Volunteers (CVs) were trained on CMAM identification, counselling and referrals of malnourished children.
“Also, a total of 383 health care workers have been trained on Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF), while 841 CVs were trained on community mobilisation and sensitisation on nutrition.
“A total of 904 support groups were established to mobilise caregivers to access nutrition and health services.”
The nutrition officer added that the trained health workers and the CVs had helped to reach 67,577 parents and caregivers with nutrition messages.
According to him, a total of 10,350 persons have been referred to health facilities for nutrition counselling between January and May.
Also, Ms Jessica Bartholomew, Coordinator, Civil Society-Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) commended the state government for the progress recorded so far.
Bartholomew pointed out that stunting in children under five years had reduced from 56.1 percent to 48.1 percent between 2013 and 2018 according to the National Demographic Health Survey.
She expressed optimism that with increased investment in the nutrition sector, the state could record a reduction in stunting by 20 per cent in the next survey to be conducted in 2023.
Ms Amabel Olukotun, Advocacy and Campaign Assistant, Save the Children International, also commended Kaduna state for the efforts to curb malnutrition in the state.
Olukotun reiterated the organisation’s continued partnership in strengthening systems and structures for improved service delivery.
