UNICEF Chief of Borno Field Office, Dr. Tushar Rane, has said that approximately 2.8 million children under five, pregnant and lactating women in BAY (Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe) states urgently require preventative nutrition services.
Dr. Rane stated this at a media dialogue on child malnutrition organised by UNICEF in commemoration of World Humanitarian Day, in Maiduguri, Borno State,
He emphasised that the escalating levels of malnutrition in these conflict-affected regions demand immediate and holistic interventions.
"Malnutrition is a present threat affecting children who are already dealing with multiple vulnerabilities," he stated.
The 2023 lean season Nutrition and Food Security Surveillance (NFSS) Round 13 reveals that global acute malnutrition (GAM) rates among children under five are alarmingly high--10.2 percent in Borno, 8.0 percent in Yobe, and 4.0 percent in Adamawa. Consequently, over 511,807 children under five suffer from severe acute malnutrition annually, requiring urgent interventions.
Dr. Rane said UNICEF as the lead partner for the Nutrition Sector in northeast Nigeria, is working alongside 46 partners, including 14 international and 32 national non-governmental organisations, to combat child malnutrition. The organisation supports 765 outpatient treatment program (OTP) sites and
50 stabilisation centers in the BAY states, although only 63% of wards in these states currently provide nutrition services.
In 2023, UNICEF's efforts, in collaboration with government and partners, resulted in the treatment of over 460,000 children for acute malnutrition across the BAY states, a 37 percent increase over the previous year, he said.
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Dr. Rane also highlighted the success of innovative approaches such as the family screening approach, which empowers caregivers to screen and identify malnutrition in children, significantly improving early detection and treatment outcomes.
He added that UNICEF's Child Nutrition Fund (CNF) is being implemented with the support of local governments to provide Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) for malnourished children.
UNICEF calls for increased government funding and the integration of services across sectors to prevent and treat child malnutrition comprehensively.
He expressed the organisation's continues commitment to supporting the Nigerian government in its mission to improve the well-being of children in the BAY states.
"UNICEF will continue to support government efforts to address child malnutrition and ensure the survival and development of children in northeast Nigeria," he said.
