From Chiangi Avese, Makurdi
The Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria, CS-UNN, a non governmental and non-profit making coalition made up of organizations with a shared vision to transform Nigeria into a country where citizens food and nutrition is secured, has called the Benue State Government to approve the National Strategic Plan of Action for Nutrition, NSPAN, of which the state domesticated since 2021 into action.
In press statement issued in Makurdi on Friday and made available to The AUTHORITY newspaper, the National Co-Chair Steering Committee of CS-UNN, Mrs. Aji Robinson said, “approving the National Strategic Plan of Action for Nutrition into action would provide a multi-sectoral approach to tackling problem of malnutrition among women and children”.
Mrs. Robinson pointed out that, “the non-approval of the state NSPAN poses a barrier hindering the adoption of a multi-sectoral approach by various nutrition line MDA’s in advancing food and nutrition security in the state”.
“while the multi-sectoral approach with a central coordination is necessary to deal with the complex nature of malnutrition, the absence of dedicated nutrition departments in the state exacerbates the issue”, Mrs. Robinson said.
CS-UNN noted that the absence of explicit budget line items for specific nutrition programmes in the state’s 2022 budget further compounds the problem, contributing to suboptimal budgetary allocations, releases and utilization for nutrition initiatives. These challenges collectively contribute to deepening the the challenge of effectively tackling malnutrition in Benue State.
“We are calling for enabling environment for maternity protection and entitlements, such as six months paid maternity leave, which plays a key role in fostering and enhancing breastfeeding to ensure that all infants in Benue state can lead a healthier and more productive lives”.
The Coalition therefore called on the Benue State Government to allocate and release promptly, adequate funds for the implementation of nutrition interventions designed to reduce malnutrition in the state; extend maternity leave for nursing mothers in Benue State from the current three months to six months with pay; approve and fund the Benue Strategic Plan of Action for Nutrition; establish Nutrition Departments in all line ministries, Departments and Agencies; and Scale-up staple food fortification initiatives for availability of affordable nutritious foods
The Coalition further pointed out that, malnutrition has remained a major health concern in Nigeria and significant cause of death, with stunting, in particular, linked to adverse outcomes such as poor brain and cognitive development, poor school performance for children and diminished productivity in adulthood.
The Nigerian Government, in collaboration with key stakeholders developed the National Strategic Plan of Action for Nutrition which sets out costed, nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions with measurable targets to be achieved between 2014 and 2019.
