Leadership (Abuja)
Golu Timothy
9 October 2008
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has inaugurated an 18-man committee on Food and Nutrition as a way of tackling malnutrition in women and children under five years.
The Secretary for Health and Human Services, Dr. Abubakar Ali Gombe, who inaugurated the committee, said the setting up of the committee is born out of the deep concern for child survival, poverty and lack of adequate nutritional information, which have been responsible for the show pace of human development in the capital city.
The 18-man committee is headed by Mr. John Obiahu, the director of finance and administration of the FCT health secretariat.
He said, in line with the 1992 Rome Resolution of the International Conference on Nutrition (ICN), the nutritional well being of the people is a pre-condition for development and a key objective of progress in human development.
"The FCTA is committed to improving maternal and child health thereby accelerating the Millennium Development Goals.
"Provision of a high standard and acceptable health care to our mothers and children in FCT is of paramount importance.
Gombe lamented a situation where the percentage whose food access is insecured has risen from 18 % in 1968 to 40 % in 1999, and over 70% in 2003.
The task before the committee, according to him, is to "establish a viable system for guiding and coordinating food and nutrition activities, incorporate food and nutrition considerations into development plans and allocate adequate resources, and promote habits that will reduce malnutrition, among many others.
In his remark, the committee chairman promised that his team will not leave any stone unturned in achieving the objective. He led his committee members to hold a maiden meeting immediately.
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