The United Nations Children’s Fund has shifted its focus from treating severe cases of malnutrition to preventing it altogether.
The UNICEF’s Bauchi Field Office (BFO) Nutrition Specialist Philomena Irene, while speaking to newsmen from Adamawa,Bauchi, Gombe, Plateau and Taraba States said UNICEF is now working to integrate nutrition into ongoing sectoral programmes such as Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), Agriculture, Education, and Social Protection.
Irene who was in Gombe State for a Media Dialogue on Age-Appropriate Complementary Feeding for Children aged six to 26 months and field visit explained that in a bid to achieve this goal, UNICEF is promoting exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life and encouraging mothers to continue breastfeeding until the child is two years old, supplemented with complementary food.
She added that UNICEF in three Local Government Areas of Gombe State has been promoting the cultivation of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, which are rich in vitamin A and also providing training to mothers on how to prepare nutritious meals using locally available ingredients.
”At Kalargu, in Kaltungo Local Government Area of Gombe State we have been promoting various complementary foods made from locally available and affordable ingredients grown by the mothers, ” Irene noted.
She said the initiative has yielded impressive results, with mothers in Gombe State delighted to learn about the importance of nutrition for their children’s growth and development.
According to the Nutrition Specialist the knowledge that these foods are locally available and can be grown in their communities has led to increased food security and a sense of empowerment.
“We have mothers here who grow orange-fleshed sweet potato vines in their backyards along with other vegetables like okra, spinach, cabbage, and tomatoes so that children can have a variety of nutrient-dense and palatable foods. We have a nutrition facilitator who has been conducting food and recipe demonstrations with the women.
Currently, they meet every month to pick a recipe and produce it so they can replicate it at home. While promoting these foods for children aged six to twenty-three months, we also consider other children in the family and fathers. We encourage fathers to eat these foods because our nutrition focus is at the family level; a healthy household head makes a healthy family among mothers,” She added.
She said the initiative has also had a positive impact on immunisation rates a with mothers now more willing to have their children vaccinated due to the trust built between them and health workers.
“We have seen mothers now say that immunisation is good. It has built trust between mothers and health workers on health programs and the acceptance of other health programs, even family planning, because they have positive outcomes from the nutrition teachings,” the Nutrition Specialist noted.
Irene noted that the programme has encouraged fathers to take an active role in their children’s health and nutrition.
“We have seen support from community leaders and household heads. For example, in Kwami community, the men have taken it upon themselves to grow vegetables and orange-fleshed sweet potatoes for their families. They have become champions. We have seen fathers bringing children for immunisation because of visible results,” she said.
Irene noted that the March Nutrition Fund is open to state governments in Nigeria. adding currently, Gombe, Adamawa, Borno, and Katsina states have contributed to the fund, adding “We are also advocating for more state governments to contribute because this is a significant investment for women and children in the region.”
Nutrition Facilitator in Kaltungo LGA, Ladi Abdullahi said women were sensitised on the orange-fleshed sweet potato, which contains Vitamin A because it was observed that most of their foods are not nutrient-dense.
“so we introduced the orange-fleshed sweet potato into their recipes. It can be eaten raw, cooked, and processed into powder. We also observed that most of them eat one flour tuwo, so we encouraged them to process the potatoes into powder mix with grains such as millet and yellow maize to make the tuwo.We then , introduced orange-fleshed sweet potato farming in the community, utilising their backyards but we encountered water problems, we introduced the use of sacs because they hold water, and this has been successful,” Abdullahi added .
Malnutrition is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as lack of proper nutrition, caused by not having enough to eat, not eating enough of the right things, or being unable to use the food that one does eat.
World Health Organisation defines malnutrition refers to deficiencies or excesses in nutrient intake, imbalance of essential nutrients or impaired nutrient utilization.
The double burden of malnutrition according to WHO consists of both undernutrition and overweight and obesity, as well as diet-related non-communicable diseases.
Undernutrition manifests in four broad forms: wasting, stunting, underweight, and micronutrient deficiencies.
In response to the growing concern over malnutrition, there has been a significant shift in focus towards prevention strategies, with an emphasis on promoting healthy eating habits. Recognising the importance of proactive measures, health experts and policymakers are advocating for a shift from solely treating malnutrition to prioritising preventative approaches.
