Abel Leonard, Lafia Correspondent
The Nasarawa State Ministry of Health has reiterated its commitment to curtailing the rate of malnutrition across the 13 local government areas and 18 development areas of the state.
This followed the validation of the mapping report of nutrition stakeholders forum for the implementation of the Accelerating Nutrition Result Project in Nasarawa State today.
The accelerating nutrition result in Nigeria is a project targeted at increasing utilisation of quality and cost-effective nutrition services for pregnant and nursing mothers as well as adolescent girls and children under the ages of five in 12 states of the federation.
The Director of Public Health, Dr Ibrahim Alhassan, expressed the ministry’s commitment to changing the negative narrative about nutrition indices in the state.
Earlier, the Executive Chairman, Nasarawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Mohammed Usman, who applauded the state government’s support in tackling the health needs of the citizens, advised the partners to give in their best in addressing nutrition problems across the state.
Presenting the overview of the ANRIN stakeholders’ mapping, the state ANRIN project coordinator, Iliyasu Tunga, stated that the mapping of partners would go a long way in coordinating the activities of development partners in the nutrition space for better result.
“We have signed a memorandum of understanding with three development partners, UNICEF, IHVN and the CS-SUNN; before now, it used to be fragmented project implementation, but with the ANRIN, we should be able to see government state actors, the MDAs, which are nutrition-specific work together for the benefit of the state,” he stated.
While applauding the development, representatives of the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria, Flare Anyawo, and that of the Civil Society Scaling-up Nutrition, Mrs Mercy Asso, promised to strengthen their activities towards improving the lives of children and women with respect to curtailing malnutrition in the state.
