UNICEF says 56.9 per cent of under-five-year-old children in Kano are affected by stunting due to malnutrition.

Oluniyi Oyedokun, UNICEF nutrition specialist, Kano office, stated this on Wednesday in Kaduna at a two-day stakeholders inception meeting on scaled-up multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS) for improved pregnancy outcome in Kano.

According to him, out of two children in Kano, one is stunted.

He revealed that the MMS intervention campaign was being sponsored by Bill and Melinda Foundation, adding that only five states in Nigeria, including Kano, were currently benefiting from the project.

Mr Oyedokun urged all the stakeholders to look at the prevention of anaemia in pregnancy holistically, from the perspective of social behavioural change.

The nutrition specialist also urged them to create an enabling environment for MMS acceptability and intervention to prevent anaemia among pregnant women.

According to him, the partnership between UNICEF, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Alive and Thrive and CS-SUN is to improve pregnancy outcomes.

The nutrition specialist, who described the MMS as a blessing, called on the Kano state government to come in because of its importance in Nigeria due to its population.

Mr Oyedokun, who also described the meeting as timely, stressed the importance of MMS to the overall well-being of the mother and child.

He said that the objectives of the meeting were to share the concept and deliverables of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) funded MMS scale-up of the project to state level stakeholders in Kano state.

“To outline and agree on the roles and responsibilities of partners, to identify the enabling environment for leveraging government resources for procurement of MMS.

”And also to develop a work plan and agree on modalities of implementation,” he explained.

Mr Oyedokun said that the first 1,000 days of the baby’s life, starting from the first nine months in the womb and two years after birth, remained critical to the well-being of the mother and child.

The UNICEF nutrition specialist stressed the importance of ensuring good nutrition for women of childbearing age and the expectant mother for the healthy development of the baby even at the foetal stage.

“The first 1,000 days are what determine the criticality of the child’s development.
“From the womb, infancy and early childhood, the first 1,000 days are the critical window for growth and development,” he said.

Mr Oyedokun also lamented the effect of malnutrition on the overall health and well-being of the mother and child.

According to him, recent surveys show that 60.4 per cent of women in North-West are anaemic.

He expressed optimism that Kano state would be the first state to implement a child nutrition fund in Nigeria.

Mr Oyedokun also commended Gov. Abba Yusuf for the approval of the release of the MMS counterpart fund.

Earlier, the commissioner for health, Dr Labaran Yusuf, thanked UNICEF and other partners for their prompt intervention in the state government, particularly on issues concerning primary healthcare for children and pregnant women

Represented by the acting permanent secretary in the ministry, Shehu Sani, said that the meeting would help them to overcome the challenges of anaemia and malnutrition in the state.

Mr Labaran further revealed that arrangements have been concluded to release the MMS intervention fund as directed by Yusuf.

In a remark, the director-general, Kano State Primary Healthcare Management Board, Dr Nasiru Mahmoud, said that effective MMS intervention would improve the reduction in mortality rate among pregnant women.

Represented by the director of Family Health Services in the board, Dr Ahmed Habib, lauded UNICEF and other development partners for their resilience towards ensuring that Kano benefited substantially from the MMS.

(NAN)