The United Nations Children’s Fund in partnership with Borno State Government has commenced a youth innovation challenge aimed at developing locally made food nutrition solutions for pregnant women and children in the state.
Speaking at the launch of the project, titled “Youth-led Nutrition Challenge” in Maiduguri, on Thursday, the UNICEF Chief of Borno field office, Tarek Akkad said the primary objective of the challenge is to protect children from acute malnutrition in their first 1,000 days of life.
He said the challenge will involve young people working together to design affordable meal plans using local foods for the most vulnerable families.
The UNICEF Chief, who was represented by the organisation’s Nutrition Specialist, Aminu Usman, added that the youths are expected to
pitch their entries to a team of professionals who will pick the most affordable, realistic and nutritious plan for pregnant women and young children.
He said, “Young people in and outside this hall will work together to design affordable meal plans for the most vulnerable families. At the end of the challenge, they will pitch their entries to a team of professionals who will pick the most affordable, realistic and nutritious plan for pregnant women and young children in Borno State.
“One of the objectives of this challenge is the protection of children from acute malnutrition in the first 1,000 days of life. It will also ensure that pregnant women and young children in the host communities and IDP camps can access nutritious food that are affordable and readily available,” he stressed.
Usman, however, pointed out that this challenge marks the first phase of the project targeting women and children in two local government areas of Jere and Maiduguri Metropolitan council, while noting that more local government will be included after the completion of this pilot phase..
“We are looking at how we can use locally available food items to prevent malnutrition among women and children,” he said.
He emphasised that the project will leverage the creativity and energy of young people in the state to own and proliferate key malnutrition prevention messages in communities.
“I would like to acknowledge funding support of the UK government through the foreign, common wealth and Development Office. With your partnership, thousands of children have not only survived acute malnutrition, but they are also thriving,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Project Coordinator of the Borno State Youth-led Nutrition Innovation Challenge, Silver Faith, said the winner of the challenge will be provided with the sum of N300,000 to bring their application to life.
“They are to innovate meal plans, using locally sourced food in the market. This will compliment the RUTF that is already been given to the women” she further noted.
Speaking earlier, the representative of the Borno State Primary Healthcare Development Board, Mala Abdulrahman, assured that the state government would provide institutional leadership for the initiative.
“We will place it on our PHC platform by connecting it to health structures, mothers’ support groups and the families who need it most” he added.
“We do this in partnership with Foundation for Alternative Learning for Underserved Communities, U-Report and with the technical support of the UNICEF Nutrition Section” Abdulwahab stated.