By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The United Nations Children Fund, UNICEF, is set to implement the new $2.7 million Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency , SIDA, fund to support at least 280,000 pregnant women , lactating mothers and under five children in the North East region of Nigeria.
In a press release made a available to newsmen, the SIDA fund is would support this segment of the North East population with maternal nutrition counselling and acute malnutrition management services.
According to UNICEF, the new funding of SEK 26 million (US$ 2.7 million), to be implemented jointly by partners will also help improve access to safe water, sanitation systems and hygiene for 86,000 conflict-affected women and children in north-east Nigeria.
Provision of the new SIDA fund is to help cushion the effects the thirteen years of armed conflict and humanitarian situation in the North East which has left women and children in acute vulnerability.
The global children agency noted that congestion in camps and settlements, high rates of open defecation and poor sanitation practices have put conflict-affected families and children at the risk of disease outbreaks and preventable deaths.
” Insecurity, loss of livelihood opportunities, high food prices and COVID-19 combined have put 4.1 million people in need of food assistance, drastically impacting the food and nutrition quality available for children in the region.”
North-east Nigeria is currently experiencing its highest burden of acute malnutrition since 2016, with 34 per cent projected increase in the burden of acute malnutrition in the lean season of 2022, compared to 2021. Unless urgent actions are taken, at least 1.7 million under five children in north-east Nigeria will need acute malnutrition treatment in 2022, UNICEF said.
Meanwhile the UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins said, ” Malnutrition, the single most deadly threat to child survival and development is dealing children in North-East Nigeria.”
“Insecurity, global hike in food prices and ongoing humanitarian interventions targeting early detection at the household level are resulting in a record number of under five children presenting symptoms of acute malnutrition and needing urgent life-saving services.”
Furthermore Hawkins said, “UNICEF is grateful that the support from SIDA will not only help to scale treatment services to more children and address contributory water and sanitation services issues in camps and settlements, but will also help increase investment in preventive nutrition services targeting pregnant women and lactating mothers with maternal nutrition services,’’ said Peter Hawkins.
