Katsina Govt Set To Reduce Severe Child Malnutrition

The Katsina state government through the State Primary Health Care Agency, SPHCA, says it has intensified efforts to reduce the burden of children with severe acute malnutrition through prevention and treatment.

The Executive Secretary of the Agency, Dr. Shamsudeen Yahaya gave the optimism during a one-day state-level nutrition program review meeting to improve the quality of nutrition services.

The 2018 national nutrition and health survey rates nutrition indices in Katsina as being poor with the prevalence of severe acute malnutrition.

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The survey also put children between 6 to 59 months representing 2 percent as being severely malnourished while 23.8 percent are in the category of being stunted, rating it worse in the country.

To reverse the trend and sustain the gains the state government through the primary health care agency has been achieving, the executive secretary of the agency Dr. Shamsudeen Yahaya said so many activities are underway.

He also revealed that another way they are tackling malnutrition in the state is the expansion of the Community Management of Acute Malnutrition, CMAM, from 14 to 24 local government areas to ensure prevention and treatment.

A director of the agency Dr. Nafisa Sani said, they have engaged the local government chairmen and parents taking the prevention and cure to the household and community levels.

The meeting with chairmen from 23 local government areas, directors of the primary healthcare, facilitators, and nutrition focal persons was held to seek a way forward and discuss the success and challenges report on activity progress across the state.