Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II has called for the establishment of an independent national body to handle issues of nutrition in the country. Sanusi who made the call at a Conference in Abuja on Wednesday, explained that if some communicable diseases could have national agencies, there should also be a body or an agency focusing on nutrition to address malnutrition in the country.
The fifth Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) has highlighted a nationwide overall drop in infant mortality rate from 97 per 1000 live births recorded in 2011 to 70 per 1000 live births.
The survey was jointly released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday, in Abuja.
Nigeria continues to record high rate of malnutrition as a result of poverty across the country, the Nutrition Specialist, United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) Philomena Irene has said.
Irene who made this known yesterday at a two-day UNICEF sponsored workshop with the theme, Investing in Child Malnutrition for the Future #StopchildmalnutritionNigeria in Yola, Adamawa State also said, most malnourished children come from poor home.
Senate Committee on Health, on Monday, mandated the Federal Ministry of Health to propose N96 billion in 2017 budget for tackling acute malnutrition in the country.
It further stated that government might be compelled to declared a state of emergency on malnutrition in the country if adequate funding is not made available for the condition.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Olanrewaju Tejuoso gave the directive at the committee’s “High Level Policy Dialogue on Nutrition” in Abuja.
By Abdulkareem Haruna
The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, says the federal government has approved N4 billion to provide health and tackle malnutrition in parts of northeast Nigeria.
Hundreds have died in the past months from severe malnutrition in the Internally Displaced Persons’ camps.
Speaking in Maiduguri, Borno State, on Thursday, the minister said the approved funds would be specifically spent on health and nutrition matters in the troubled region.
