BAUCHI LAWMAKERS URGED TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR CHILD NUTRITION AS MALNUTRITION RATES SOAR 23-02-25
By Sadiq Aminu Funding for nutrition issues is becoming a source of concern in Bauchi State as the number of children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) continues to rise due to the unavailability of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) and the economic situation in the country.
To this end, the Bauchi State Committee on Food and Nutrition, Ministry of Budget, Economic Planning and Multilateral Coordination organised a two-day advocacy and sensitisation meeting for members of the Bauchi State House of Assembly on the need for adequate budgetary appropriations for nutrition interventions.
Addressing the lawmakers during the meeting, the Chief of UNICEF, Bauchi Field Office, Dr Nuzhat Rafique, said the House needed to make adequate budgetary allocations for nutrition interventions to avert an impending disaster in the state.
Dr Rafique stated that the only way to save children dying of malnutrition was for the state government and legislators to make deliberate efforts towards providing the necessary interventions.
She advised the state government to mobilise resources and contribute to the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF), explaining that if the state contributed a total of two hundred million naira, it would have the opportunity to access double that amount in nutrition commodities to cater to children’s needs.
The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Abubakar Sulaiman, acknowledged that investing in nutrition was not merely a public health concern but a fundamental issue of social justice, economic development, and human rights.
He noted that malnutrition posed a severe threat to communities in the state and hindered the potential of future generations.
Abubakar Sulaiman stated that although the 2025 appropriation budget had been passed, the House was committed to following legal procedures and enacting legislation that would provide an urgent intervention in that direction.
He directed the House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security to investigate the alleged mismanagement of one billion naira allocated for nutrition and report back for appropriate action.
The State Commissioner for Budget, Economic Planning and Multilateral Coordination, Amina Katagum, assured that the ministry would support any intervention aimed at improving child nutrition in the state.