Malnutrition: Group trains 30 CSOs to push for more govt intervention

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By; ALEX UANGBAOJE, Kaduna.
The Civil Society, Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria, has commenced a five-day capacity training for 30 Civil Society Organisations in Kaduna State, to push government to scale-up nutrition intervention in the state.
The groups Acting Project Officer, Mr Okoronko Sunday, said at the opening of the training in Zaria that it was meant to support government and other stakeholders to address current malnutrition crises in the state.
Sunday said that the training would equip the beneficiaries with the needed skills to advocate for timely release of funds for nutrition interventions and effective ways to monitor implementation in the state.
He described the group as a non-profit coalition of organizations with a vision to transform Nigeria into a country where every citizen has nutritious food.
The project officer said that the training is being conducted in partnership with Advocacy on Child and Family Health (PACFaH).
PACFaH is currently implementing social accountability project by building capacity of indigenous CSOs and activists working on nutrition.
The officer said that the project was to catalyze government at national and state levels to fulfill commitments on child and family health to ensure sustainable growth and development.
“To support the mandate of the PACFaH project to build the capacity of CSOs in Nassarawa, Niger and Kaduna states, a need assessment was carried out early 2016 and gaps were identified that needed to be addressed.
“The gaps include organisational development, monitoring and evaluation, financial management, proposal writing and work plans for nutrition programmes among others.
“The training was, therefore, designed to address these gaps and equip CSOs with the basic skills to advocate for timely release of funds for nutrition activities in Kaduna State,” he said.
Also speaking, the coordinator CS-SUNN Kaduna, Mr Silas Ideva pledged to work with relevant ministries, department and agency in the state to curb the silent child killer call malnutrition.
Ideva said the group would deploy resources and expertise to reach out to all children facing one nutritional challenges or the other and ensure that the needed intervention is put in place.
“Malnutrition is a threat to the development of children, a critical component of the society that ensures sustainable development.
“Our country would be doomed, if children are not supported to develop their full potentials to be able to contribute to national development, “he said.
The Nigeria Demographic Health Survey 2013 indicates that 912, 822 children, representing 57 per cent of children in the state are stunted.
This means that six out of every 10 children less than five years in the state are stunted due to chronic malnutrition.
The survey also indicates that more than 750, 000, representing 42 per cent of children less than five years old, had severe acute malnutrition and were 10 times more likely to die.

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