Gombe decries impact of poverty in malnutrition status
Chima Azubuike, Gombe
Gombe State Secretary to Government, Prof. Ibrahim Abubakar Njodi, has decried poverty as the bane of malnutrition in the state.
Njodi noted that there is a nexus between malnutrition and socio-economic development of a people
He made this disclosure on Wednesday, when a delegation from Accelerating Nutrition Result in Nigeria (ARiN) project, led by Omotayo Adeyemi, Director of Social Development, Federal Ministry of Finance and Budget Planning paid him courtesy visit.
According to him, what matters to a poor man is not how balanced his meal is but the desire to get satisfaction.
He said, “Poverty is the key issue whatever you; what happens to the common man is does he have the capacity to do it. I see it as a socio-economic kind of thing. With this we are making heads way.
“The little we are able to do in the state, you heard the Special Adviser that we need to talk to science and technology ministry to see what we can do we have started doing something at our own level.
“When you talk to the common man what matters to him is can he get food to fill his stomach forget about the balance. In his own case he wants something inside the stomach.”
While bemoaning the surge in poverty, the SSG noted that government is working assiduously to get sustainable partnership to alleviate the suffering of the people.
“For us here poverty is the main cause of the problem; let say for places like Lagos you have all the food probably the problem is lack of education . In our own case here we don’t have so poverty is the key. When you talk about special pot of soup, a particular soup has many ingredients from the vegetables, fish, kpomo, stockfish but here I bet you many can not afford N20 worth of beans, without palm oil. When you see them, you see starvation, you see poverty.
“We trying to see what to do to make life easy for the common man, as a government we are open to get the needed support. Trying to empower our youth.We will use your expertise to remove our people from poverty. We will do our best, Be rest rest assured that the our governor is all ready to do anything whatever you think that will bring our people out from the current condition of poverty,” Njodi added.
Also speaking, Dr. Ishiyaku Mohammed, Special Adviser to the governor on Budget, Planning and Donor Coordination said ARiN is working across all sectors.
He said the production of 30,000 complementary food for moderately malnourished children by ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation is the first of it kind in the country.
Speaking earlier, Adeyemi, Director of Social Development said the ARiN project is a five year initiative geared towards improving nutrition in Nigeria.
He stated that Gombe is one of the implementing states, adding that his team is in the state on advocacy.
He added that the project is being piloted across Nafada, Balanga, and Yalmatu Deba.
“ARiN came in as an intervention and Gombe happens to be one of the states and the only state in the North East.
“We have been to ministry of Education, Finance, State House of Assembly to solicit for their support in appropriation of nutrition budget line. They (house) promised to create a new committee on nutrition,” he said.
