Malnutrition: Gombe govt, UNICEF advocate sustained investment in first 1000 days of life
The Gombe State government in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF has launched the Latter-Day Saints (LDSC)-Supported Project to tackle malnutrition through sustained investment in the first 1000 days of life.
The project tagged “Preventing Malnutrition in the First 1000 Days of Life” is to be implemented across Gombe State for a year.
Inaugurating the project in Gombe on Monday, Dr Abdulrahman Shuaibu, the Executive Secretary of the Gombe State Primary Health Care Department Agency said that the initiative was key to improving the health of children in the state.
Shuaibu said that the impact of malnutrition on children was severe, affecting the mental and overall development of the children, hence urged collective action to tackle the menace.
Stating that the statistics for Nigeria and Gombe State was not looking good, the Executive Secretary stressed the need to strengthen the fight against malnutrition through sustained investment and collaborations.
He advocated the need for antenatal care, safe delivery, exclusive breastfeeding, complementary and supplementary feeding as part of preventive measures that should be embraced by residents of the state.
Shuaibu highlighted efforts by the state government in collaboration with critical stakeholders to tackle the menace.
On her part, the Chief of UNICEF, Bauchi Field Office, Dr Nuzhat Rafique said that the one-year project was to support malnourished children to improve their nutritional status and to strengthen support for children during their first 1000 days.
Rafique decried the high number of children who were suffering malnutrition and the need for more investments in the first 1000 days of life to prevent malnutrition and ensure that children grow well to contribute to societal development.
“Today represents another important milestone in our collective commitment to ensuring that every mother and every child in Gombe State have the opportunity not only to survive but to thrive.
“The first 1,000 days of life from conception until a child’s second birthday represent the most critical period for brain development, physical growth, immunity and lifelong health.
“Investments made during this window yield some of the highest returns in human capital development and are fundamental to achieving sustainable development,” she said.
The Chief also lamented that the situation of hygiene and open defecation was very common, stressing that the nutritional status and availability of diverse food everyday in appropriate quality and quantity was unavailable.
“We need a very strong system to prevent malnutrition and promote healthy growth of the children and this grant is going to support that.”
Rafique said that the state needed a system strengthening approach and a good evidence based planning to tackle malnutrition amongst children in the state, stressing the importance of data-driven planning in all LGAs.
She called for a change in the community behaviour that often led children into malnutrition which she said wasn’t supposed to be.
“These children shouldn’t go into malnutrition in the first place because when they do, they lose a part of their I.Q, energy and potential to grow and be productive for the society.
“Once a child grows malnourished, everything they lose, even when they are treated at high cost, still we are at loss.
“As a nation we will be at a loss in future with more children malnourished although they are recovered,” she said.
The UNICEF Chief appealed to the media to help effect the needed behaviour change amongst communities to build a culture of prevention rather than treatment.
Rafique commended the Gombe State government for its continued investment and commitment to improving the wellbeing of children and women in the state which she said was evident in its sustained collaboration with UNICEF and other partners in the efforts to advance child rights.
Ms Philomena Irene, a Nutrition Specialist with UNICEF Nigeria’s Bauchi Field Office, highlighted the importance of the first 1000 days of a child, saying that the period was key to brain development.
Irene said investing in such a period was the most effective, high-impact strategy to break the cycle of malnutrition, poverty and inequality.
Breaking down the 1000 days, she said that the period comprised 270 days of pregnancy, 180 days of infancy, 550 days of toddler.
She called on stakeholders in the state to invest in the first 1,000 days to reduce child malnutrition and mortality while improving education, productivity and economic growth in the future.
