By TALATU MAIWADA

The Civil Society–Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) says no fewer than 70,000 children in Adamawa are malnourished with urgent need of nutritional support.

The Chairman, Steering Committee (CS-SUNN), Mr Sodangi Chindo, disclosed this during a state-level dialogue on nutrition financing and maternity protection on Wednesday, in Yola.

He said the figure was based on findings from the 2023 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS).

According to him, over 70,000 children in the state are in urgent need of nutrition intervention, adding that malnutrition remains a serious threat to child survival, growth and development.

“The NDHS 2023, conducted every five years, showed that 19.1 per cent of children in Adamawa are underweight, 4.2 per cent are wasted, while 39.7 per cent are stunted.

“The indices indicated improvement compared to the 2018 survey, which recorded 32.5 per cent underweight, seven per cent wasting and 48.1 per cent stunting,” he said.

He attributed the progress to the state government’s commitment of N300 million for procurement of nutrition commodities, which was matched through counterpart funding to N600 million in 2025.

The chairman, however, urged the government to increase funding, noting that only 3.5 per cent of the proposed 2026 budget, amounting to nine billion naira, would be required to tackle malnutrition in the state.

He explained that through counterpart funding arrangements, the state could access double the value of its investment, reducing the financial requirement from N18 billion to nine billion naira.

“In this regard, Adamawa State Government will need to invest only nine billion naira instead of the required N18 billion to address child malnutrition,” he said.

Chindo described nutrition as critical to health and development, adding that it remained one of the world’s most pressing health and human development challenges.

“Malnutrition is a major public health concern in Nigeria, with about 40 per cent of children affected nationwide.

“According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 45 per cent of under-five deaths were linked to malnutrition.

“Also according to WHO, Nigeria loses over 2,000 under-five children daily to malnutrition,” the chairman added.

Chindo called for timely release and utilisation of 2025 nutrition allocations.

He also advocated adequate budgetary provision for nutrition in the 2026 budget, based on evidence.

He further urged development partners, philanthropists and corporate organisations to align with the state’s nutrition agenda to mobilise additional resources. (NAN)

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