Dutse — The Jigawa State government said yesterday that over 86, 000 children with severe cases of malnutrition have been cured.

Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Lawal Abdu, while speaking at the inauguration of a 19-member technical committee on food and nutrition in state, said the free treatment was carried out by the state government in partnership with non-governmental organizations.

He said Jigawa initiated a community based management survey on malnutrition aimed at eradicating the menace among children and rural dwellers.

"With the help of development partners such as ACH International, UNICEF, MSF (Doctors without Boarder) Working to Improve Nutrition in Northern Nigeria (WINNN), we have been able to tackle issues of severe malnutrition in selected communities in the state, and over 86, 000 children have been cured in the past 2 years," he said.

He charged members of the committee to work hard and coordinate with donor agencies in the area of food nutrition as well as coordinate the planning and implementation of all food and nutrition programmes in the state.

In his remarks, the committee's chairman and Director General of Gunduma Health System Board, Usman Tahir, commended the state government for the confidence reposed in them, and assured of their commitment towards the realization of the set objectives.