By Suzan Edeh, Bauchi
Malnutrition is caused by lack of macronutrient such as Vitamin A, Iodine, Iron and Zinc.Vitamin A is an essential macronutrient necessary for cognitive development and red blood formation, a lack of it is responsible for anaemia.
In Bauchi State,urgent action is needed to save the lives of children from malnutrition.The state has an alarming poor nutrition status with 54.2 percent of under 5 children reported as stunted, 29 percent as underweight,6.9 percent suffer from Acute Severe Malnutrition or wasting.This translates to over 57,791 under 5 children wasting annually as contained in a report of NDHS 2018.
The MICS 2021 Report further states that Exclusive breastfeeding in Bauchi State is at the rate of 24.6 percent which has further worsen infant feeding practices in the state.All these factors put together, has hampered
the nutritional outcomes of under 5 children in the state.
Precisely in the month of August 2024, a medical humanitarian organisation, Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) raised alarm over the increasing number of malnutrition cases in Bauchi State, saying that in Bauchi, 5,787 and 17,223 children were admitted in its inpatient therapeutic feeding centre (ITFC) and three local Ambulatory therapeutic feeding centres (ATFCs), which support malnourished children before they need to be admitted to an in-patient hospital.
MSF stated that between January-June 2024, the number of admissions was 127% and 123% higher than during the same period in 2023 respectively.These statistics were disclosed by MSF Bauchi State Coordinator, Mrs. Rabi Adamou, yesterday, at an interactive session with
Journalists held at Bagari Hotel and Suites Conference Room, Bauchi.
Aldo, Mr Abdullahi Suleiman Sabo, the facility Manager of Miri PHC in Bauchi local government, disclosed that the health facility has not received the supply of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) for more than two years, adding the facility usually refer cases of Acute Severe Malnutrition to Nutritional Center in Kafin Madaki General Hospital for patients to receive treatment.
“For mild cases of malnutrition, we usually place the patients on nutritional diet.In the last one year, the facility recorded 258 Malnutrition cases with more than 150 cases of Severe Acute malnutrition.In the last two weeks, we recorded 15 new cases of malnutrition” he said
According to him, most of the parents of the malnourished children are ignorant on how to prepare nutritional diets for their children, adding that the facility usually organises programmes where they educate the parents on how to prepare the nutrtional foods.
As part of efforts to address the situation, the Bauchi State government, in collaboration with partners like United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Catalyzing Strengthened Policy Action for Healthy Diets and Resilience (CASCADE), is taking steps to see malnutrition in the state is reduced to the barest minimum including reintroducing nutrition corners and gardens in primary healthcare centers (PHCs) across the state.
The aim of reintroducing nutrition corners and gardens in primary healthcare centers (PHCs) across the state is centred around early detection and prevention initiatives like “parent MUAC” activities, which train parents to measure children’s mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) at home, aim to detect malnutrition early and prevent severe cases.
On it part, the Bauchi Field Office of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) organized a 5 day workshop to engage the State House of Assembly and Executive Chairpersons of the 20 LGAs in the state on the way to overcome the situation with particular focus on funding (budgetry allocation and prompt release).
During the workshop which held in Plateau state,members of the Bauchi State House of Assembly and Chairpersons of the 20 LGAs in the state, brainstormed on how to navigate the situation with particular focus on financing (budgetry allocation and prompt release of the allocation).Despite collective efforts, challenges remain, including limited access to healthcare, lack of qualified medical staff, and inadequate provision of medications and ready-to-use therapeutic foods.
A major challenge that is contributing to the Malnutrition crisis in the state is the inability of the state government to release matching funding to access the Children Nutrition Fund (CNF) managed by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which is meant to be used to procure the foods and other commodities needed to fight malnutrition.For the past 2 years, the government has not released the fund.
Speaking on the consequences of Bauchi state not releasing the matching funding to access the Children Nutrition Fund (CNF)), the UNICEF Chief of Field Office (CFO) Bauchi Field Office, Dr Nuzhat Rafique said that UNICEF has not received any match the grant to procure nutritional supplies for the children of bauchi state.
“You can see that severely acute malnutrition is at a public health alarming situation because in every 10 children, 3 are severely malnourished and given the circumstance of 20 LGA where are there are zero dose children, which means that they have never been reached with immunization before, so what will be the immunity status of those children?.
“The Child Nutrition fund(CNF) is a very beautiful scheme that is managed by UNICEF and the donors are UK government, Bill and Melinda gates and Child Investment Foundation Fund. So these are the partners who joined hands together and made this CNF and then some states for example like gombe gave N160 million, UNICEF then matched that grant to the CNF and had more than N300 million which we were able purchase the RUTF for them, many of the children in the PHCs are receiving the RUTF now. Similarly in Adamawa State, they were able to provide N100 million that will match the CNF, so that we were able to purchase nutrition supplies for them even if it is a small quantity.
” This year, they have committed N200 million, so we are already in the process of matching that grant and bringing the supplies for them.So these are the examples from the neighbouring states, but unfortunately, bauchi state has not contributed anything yet and as you people saw that day that some funds in the last year expenditure report of Bauchi where it was reported as RUTF procurement, but we did not see any RUTF in the health facilities last year”
“We are very hopeful and are still very hopeful,given the commitment of the state governor, especially the commissioner of budget and planning who was there and commissioner of health, they are already committed and dedicated, they feel for the people. The State government also feel for the children and I had the privilege to witness where the Governor announced some money for Fathers for Good health for example and the Governor made the money available that day and I am wondering and I am praying that we get this CNF matching grant from the Bauchi State government as we have gotten from Gombe and Adamawa, but still, we are waiting, there is no solid commitment seen”
“At moderate malnutrition which is more than 50 percent of children suffering in Bauchi. If we are not able to bring them back into the normal nutrition status, they will go and the ones suffering from the severe acute malnutrition will die. So,we are literally pushing our children towards death by not contributing towards the CNF because this is extremely sensitive and critical for the children of bauchi”
“We have these nutrition supplies and Nutrition programmes and I think this is an opportunity to beg honestly to the government of Bauchi to do something for these children and contribute towards the fund. For example, in 2024, N2.1 billion was allocated for RUTF, can you imagine that if that N2.1 billion was given for the matching grant, imagine what N2,1 billion could have done, if the RUTF was bought, it could have treated 10,000 children in Bauchi State out of the 34,000 children who need this support. If they had given us that money for the CNF, this N4.2 billion could have saved the lives of 20,000 children who are at risk.We could have doubled the amount of RUTF and the number of children saved.Now this is how critical this issue is but we don’t know how the N2.1 billion was spent” She said.
The State government on its part restated its commitment in combating malnutrition in the state, the government recently officially unveiled the Bauchi State Multi-Sectoral Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition (BSMSPAN) 2024 -2028 with the aim of fighting unavailability of food and promoting nutrition in under-5 children and women.
Launching the plan at the government house with stakeholders, health agencies in attendance, the state Deputy Governor, Hon. Mohammed Auwal Jatau said that In order to address malnutrition and hunger, the state government has made adequate budgetary provision in the annual budget for nutrition programmes such as Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM), Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) among others.
Jatau noted that the state government has taken the bold step to produce a holistic cost-effective state strategic plan of action for nutrition in a process where all relevant sectors at all levels were involved, adding that nine priority areas have been identified that are considered key to improving nutritional status in the state.
Regarding the matching funding to access the Children Nutrition Fund (CNF), the Executive Chairman of the Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Board, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed assured that the state government will soon release the matching fund required to access the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF) initiative.
Dr Mohammed clarified that the delay was not due to negligence on the government’s part.
“It is not that we refused to act, nor that the Governor declined to approve the matching fund. We are in the process of preparing the memo, and very soon, it will be presented to the Governor for approval,”
“UNICEF has communicated with us on this. They stated that if we provide N100 million, they will contribute N200 million. This combined fund will be used to procure the required food nutrients. We will release the N100 million, and UNICEF will provide the N200 million—that is the content of their letter, and we still have it”
“It was my delay in writing the memo, not that the Governor refused to approve the payment. Now, I am writing it, and I have proposed a bill, which I will send to the Governor as soon as he returns for approval,” he said.
Dr Mohammed acknowledged that other states under UNICEF’s Bauchi Field Office, including Adamawa, Gombe, Plateau, and Taraba, had already paid their contributions, leaving Bauchi as the only state yet to fulfil its obligation.
Despite the delay, he reassured that the state’s healthcare system remained functional, with plans underway for the Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Week (MNCHW).
He further explained that UNICEF had sent a formal request, indicating that for every N100 million provided by the state government, UNICEF would contribute N200 million to procure necessary food nutrients.