The Katsina State Nutrition Officer, Abdulhadi Abdulkadir, has said about 200,000 children are currently suffering from acute malnutrition in the state. Abdulkadir, who spoke during a stakeholders meeting on nutrition, organised by the Aisha Buhari Foundation, Future Assured, in Katsina, said over one million children under the age of five years were also experiencing stunted growth. He said: “Over one million children under 5 in Katsina State are not growing well that is why they are stunted. Stunting is one of the chronic forms of malnutrition that cannot be corrected. “Over 200,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition.

High maternal mortality rate as a result of iron deficiency anemia are contributing to 20 per cent maternal mortality.” He reiterated that acute malnutrition was also bedeviling over 12 per cent of women across the state, saying “our mothers and children are suffering from malnutrition”. He, however, said the state government had established Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) centres in 14 local government areas of the state. He said the CMAM programme, which started in October 2010 with few local governments was now covering 70 of Out Patient Therapeutic Programme (OPTP) in 14 LGAs of the state. He explained that a total of 33,769 children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) were enrolled in the CMAN programme between January to October 2019.

He said: “The programme only cover 14 local governments out of the 34 LGAs and 361 wards that we have in Katsina State, which is not enough considering the number of children that are having malnutrition and the number of children dying as a result of malnutrition.”

He said the state government was supporting the 14 SAM Local Government Areas with N250,000 monthly to provide the Ready-to- Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) in order to end malnutrition among children in the state. In her remarks, the wife of the state Governor, Dr. Hadiza Aminu Bello Masari, said the state government had expended N290 million in 2017 and 2018 to tackle malnutrition. She added that government had also inaugurated a taskforce on nutrition in three local government areas of Rimi, Kafur and Kankia. (Saturday Telegraph)