More people experience food and nutrition insecurity in Borno, Katsina, Kaduna, Jigawa, and Kano states, according to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
It noted Cadre Harmonisé report said 17.6 million in 26 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), suffer from food and nutrition crises.
The report added between March and May, the top food and nutrition insecure states were Lagos (1,596,099); Borno (1,553,499); Katsina (1,314,123); (Kaduna) 1,222,929; Jigawa, 1,063,633; and Kano, 1,006,542.
UNICEF urged governments to ramp up interventions and domestic funding for nutrition, particularly for children.
Speaking in Port Harcourt at a media dialogue on child malnutrition, with a focus on financing, UNICEF’s Communication Specialist, Geoffrey Njoku, called for increased allocation for nutrition, and timely release of funds.
He said: “We have a nutrition problem in Nigeria, and it is particularly bad for children. Although UNICEF and other partners are supporting Nigeria to combat malnutrition, the government is not putting enough money into ending the country’s nutrition problems. The government needs to put in its money into dealing with malnutrition”.
Head of Child Rights Information Department in the Federal Ministry of Information, Najaatu Hassan, represented by Temitoye Falayi, said: “Through the media, we have achieved success in the nutrition space, however, we can do more. We want Federal Government to commit more funds to nutrition for children. We want to make sure malnutrition is a thing of the past”.
Nutrition officer at UNICEF, Nkeiru Enwelum said: “While there are 35 million children under five in Nigeria, 12 million are stunted, and three million are wasted. Also, Nigeria is ranked first in Africa and second globally in children that are malnourished.
“The government must commit more money for health, and ensure there is more health for the money committed through accountability and transparency. Also, mothers need to exclusively breastfeed babies for, at least, six months, which will guarantee their physical and mental growth and development”.
