Mothers laud Gombe-UNICEF’s partnership to combat malnutrition
Mothers from Malam-Sidi Community of Kwami Local Government Area of Gombe State whose children are beneficiaries of the Progressing Action on Resilient System for Nutrition Through Innovation and Partnership (PARSNIP) project have commended the state government’s partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) aimed at tackling malnutrition in their community.
Under the PARSNIP project, the children are being given Small-Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements (SQ-LNS), a nutrient-dense food paste designed to prevent malnutrition in young children (6-23 months) by providing 24 micronutrients and macronutrients.
The women while speaking with journalists on Wednesday during a media field trip to their community said that the intervention had saved their children from malnutrition.
Hussaina Bappayo, a mother of two, described the supplement as “a wonder supplement” that every child should receive to support healthy growth.
She said her child’s health had improved tremendously since she began using the supplement, a sentiment shared by Mrs Asmau Tella, another mother in the community.
Tella said her daughter was frequently ill and suffered recurrent diarrhoea before she introduced SQ-LNS into her meals. “All that stopped when I started giving her the supplement,” she said.
According to the mothers, many women in the community began rushing to the health centre for the supplement after witnessing improvements in their children.
They added that they had saved significant amounts previously spent on medications for recurrent childhood illnesses.
They appealed to the state government, UNICEF and other partners to replenish the supply at their health centre, noting that “demand is now very high and we are currently out of stock.”
Other mothers who shared their experiences said that the introduction of the nutrients-rich supplement had helped in reducing the number of children affected by malnutrition in their community.
They, however, expressed fears that the lack of the supplement at the health facilities in their community could put more children in the LGA at risk of malnutrition.
Speaking on the project implementation in the state, Ms Philomena Irene, a Nutrition Specialist with UNICEF Nigeria’s Bauchi Field Office, said 106,248 children in Gombe State have received UNICEF’s Small-Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements (SQ-LNS) between 2023 and 2025.
Irene stated this on Wednesday during a virtual meeting with journalists in Gombe.
The meeting followed journalists’ field visits to Kwami and Kaltungo Local Government Areas to interact with beneficiaries of PARSNIP project.
The project, implemented by the Gombe State Government and UNICEF with support from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, aims to prevent malnutrition among children under five.
Irene said no fewer than 20,347 caregivers had been counselled and trained under the PARSNIP project on the effective use of Mid-Upper Arm Circumference tapes and proper Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) practices.
