•Malnourished children
The Nutrition Commodities and Logistics Management System desk officer in the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Samari Godwin Bawa said no fewer than 2.5 million severe malnutrition children are reported annually in Nigeria.
The desk officer made the disclosure while fielding questions to our correspondent in the Jigawa State capital during a two-day training for nutrition programme officers on nutrition commodities logistics on-boarding into the Nigerian Health Management Information Systems (NHLMIS) held at Tahir Guest Palace, Dutse, reports Nigerian Tribune.
Bawa explained that the worry of the federal government on the number of severely malnourished children in the country brought the idea to on-board nutrition programs into the Nigerian health logistics management system.
According to him “Nigeria is the second to India with the worse cases in the world and the cases is increasing despite laudable effort by the Nigerian government, partners and donor agencies on nutrition programme.
“To that regard nutrition program to be on-boarding in to Nigerian health logistics management system to add to Malaria, HIV, TB, MNCH.”
He noted that the federal ministry of health in collaboration with Jigawa state government supported by Nutrition International joints efforts to address the challenges of nutrition commodities stock out in Jigawa state health facilities.
“We are onboarding nutrition so that federal, state and local government can have a visibility to shown commodities just like other public health programs that are already on boarded,” Bawa said.
The desk officer maintained that the training will build capacity of logistics managers especially those who are serving with Nutrition commodities to know how to utilise the NHLMIS platform in terms of accountability of nutrition commodities in the state.
While making her remarks, the Nutrition International senior programme officer (MNHN), Mrs Ayodele Gbemileke commended federal, state government for the effort adding that the move will increase accountability and reduce nutrition’s commodities stock out.
Gbemileke said, Nutrition International supported federal ministry of health and social welfare to train about forty Nutrition logistics managers on the use of NHLMIS platform from Jigawa state.
She then urged the participants to utilise the skills acquired during the training and step it down to other Nutrition officers to achieve the desired goals of savings million of children in the country from the risk of being stunted.
On his part, the Jigawa State nutrition officers, Malam Muhammad Abdullahi said the Jigawa government in partnership with United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) has procured N500 million worth Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) and supplying to all malnutrition treatment centers across the state.
