By; JACOB ONJEWU DICKSON
Gombe, the Jewel in the Savannah, has recorded another first, as the state received two separate awards in recognition of its exceptional performance and outstanding commitment to excellence as well as its contribution to the success of the implementation of the Pooled Fund project Window 2.
According to a statement signed by the Director-General (Press Affairs)Government House Gombe, Ismaila Uba Misilli, the two awards were presented by the National Secretariat of Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) through the Coordinator of the CS-SUNN coalition of Gombe State during the end of project meeting in Abuja.
The CS-SUNN coalition had impleted the project with support from the National Secretariat in the areas of capacity building of community based organisations, CBOs, health workers, staff of line MDAs, media, religious and traditional leaders on importance of exclusive breastfeeding.
Other areas were town hall meetings, house hold economy training for women in communities and nutrition education and food demonstration during ante natal cares, ANCs.
The programme also carried out support to SCFN meetings, development of sermon notes on nutrition from the islamic and christian perspectives.
Recall that, last year, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya received the NUTRITION CHAMPION FOR THE NIGERIAN CHILD Award by the International Society of Media in Public Health in recognition of his administration’s disposition towards tackling the manace of malnutrition among children in the State.
Until recently, malnutrition was a major health concern in Gombe State with the attendant classification of the state as one with a high record of children not being able to grow to their potentials.
However, with multi-sectoral approach to addressing the problem instituted by Governor Inuwa Yahaya, Gombe is now leading the way.
The present administration has gone into partnership with UNICEF and relevant partners to provide nutritious food to children through the timely payment of counterpart funding in order to ensure that children in the State do not suffer the needless health challenges associated with malnutrition.
As directed by the Governor, the state’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation has developed a formula and is now producing Ready to Use Therapeutic food locally as a way of ensuring permanent solution to the malnutrition challenges in the State.
