CS-SUNN Commends Bauchi For Nutrition Budget Line, Assures Continued Partnership
Mrs Debis Mwalike (middle), the Secretary, CS-SUNN Bauchi State Chapter during the news briefing in Bauchi. Photo: Murtala Muhammad
By Murtala Muhammad
Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) has commended Bauchi state government’s commitment in creating a nutrition budget line and encouraging women to ensure uptake of antenatal and postnatal care services as well as exclusive breastfeeding.
This is done through advocacy efforts, hosting of a number of International Partners that helped in the implementation of various programmes aimed at improving healthcare of mothers and children.
At a news briefing in Bauchi to mark CS-SUNN’s tenth year anniversary in the country, the Secretary, Bauchi State Chapter, Mrs Debis Mwalike said despite these achievements malnutrition has continued to be a threat among children.
The National Nutrition Health Survey (NNHS, 2018) and National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS, 2018) indicates that Bauchi State’s rate of stunted children is 46%, wasting rate is 9.5% while underweight is 28.2% and overweight is 0.5%.
Mrs Mwalike identified inadequate funding and resources, lack of scalability of interventions and lack of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), as some of the the problems exacerbating malnutrition indices in the state.
According to her, in the last five years of CS-SUNN implementation in Bauchi State, the project also faced challenges in tracking and facility revisit of identified Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) as well as shortage of human resources in some facilities.
The Secretary CS-SUNN emphasized the need for concerted efforts by all stakeholders to identify workable solutions towards addressing the problems especially as it affects women and children.
Mrs Mwalike noted, CS-SUNN members through partnership with international partners and the Bauchi State Committee for Food and Nutrition, participated in the development of the State Policy on Food and Nutrition, Multisectoral Plan of Action for nutrition, among other policies and documents.
She said in a move to ensure optimum service delivery, the project rendered technical assistance to the state health workers to include training, coaching and mentoring among others interventions.
