Health facilities in Bauchi State have admitted 4,384 children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) for treatment across 14 Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition Centers in the first quarter of 2024.
The State Nutrition Officer, Abubakar Saleh confirmed the development while giving an overview of the nutrition situation in Bauchi State at a two-day State Committee on Food and Nutrition meeting held in Jos, the Plateau State capital.
Saleh explained that out of the figure, only 451 have completed treatment, while four deaths were recorded in children less than five years within the period under review.
The State Nutrition Officer revealed that the state began treatment in February 2024 upon receiving delivery of 17,000 cartons of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF) from USAID.
Jessica Bartholomew, United Nations Children Fund, UNICEF’s facilitator on Nutrition in her address stated that according to statistics, Nigeria has the largest population of chronically undernourished children in the world.
She stated that the government needs to invest in interventions as childhood curtailing is estimated to reduce at least 10% of potential life savings.
“The country has a total of 11 million children being stunted while Bauchi State is contributing to the number with a stunting rate at 46%, wasting 9.5% and 28.2% underweight NDHIS 2018.
“As a Committee with a mandate to coordinate nutrition activities in the state, there is a need to make the government realize the need to address nutrition which is of critical importance for achieving SDGs especially goals related to hunger, child and maternal health, and education,” Bartholomew said.
Dr Martins Jackson, the Nutrition Officer, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, had earlier in his address stressed the need for sustained awareness on exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months of a child’s life to address malnutrition.
