Spread the word
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Chief of Field office in Bauchi, Dr Nuzhat Rafique, has called on the state and local governments to prioritise child nutrition in their planning, budgeting and resource allocation to address the rising prevalence of malnutrition.
Rafique made the call during a two-day advocacy meeting organised by the UNICEF for the Bauchi state local government chairmen and nutrition officers aimed at familiarising the newly elected local government chairpersons with the scale of nutritional challenges affecting children in their respective councils and the wider subregion.
She stated that the recent changes in local government leadership had brought several new chairpersons into office, making it necessary to sensitise them to the severity of child malnutrition and the need to incorporate nutrition interventions into their development plans.
She said adequate planning, budgeting and resource allocation are essential to tackling malnutrition, particularly in the North-East, where many children face significant nutritional challenges.
“Child malnutrition should be one of the top priorities on their agenda, particularly given the high prevalence of malnutrition among children in the North-East,” she said.
Spread the word