- To procure therapeutic food
Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Federal Government has confirmed that 2.5 million children under the age of five are currently affected with severe acute malnutrition in Nigeria.
The government also admitted that records indicate that 90 percent of the children are in northern Nigeria.
It says that 20 percent of the children could loose their lives if nothing is done urgently to correct the development.
Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole said in a statement on Wednesday that the government has risen to the challenge, having signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) for the procurement of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF).
Therapeutic foods are designed for specifically for nutrition. It is purposely made of dietary supplements, used for emergency feeding of malnourished children or to supplement the diets of persons with special nutrition requirements.
Adewole was happy that the partnership will serve as counterpart contribution for the procurement and distribution of the commodity in the six geopolitical zones.
He said that the government has initiated community based Management of Severe Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) in Gombe and Kebbi states as a pilot scheme.
The programme, according to the Minister, has reached 10 other states that have a record of acute malnutrition.
