CS-SUNN advocates increased budgetary allocation, releases for nutrition issues

A health advocacy group, Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria, CS-SUNN, has called for more budgetary provision and releases for nutrition-related issues in Enugu State.

The group made the recommendation while expressing concern over non-release of budgetary allocations for nutrition-related issues in previous years.

Addressing journalists in Enugu on Thursday during a media roundtable, the Enugu State coordinator of CS-SUNN, Mr Finian Ali rallied stakeholders towards showing deserved interest to nutrition issues.

He stated that malnutrition and nutrition-related diseases have remained a public health concern in Nigeria due to complex factors.

Ali added that “malnutrition is a formidable cause of death, with stunting, in particular, linked to adverse outcomes such as poor brain and cognitive development, a loss of 2-3 years of schooling, poor school performance and diminished productivity in adulthood.”

While providing a worrisome data, the coordinator, who quoted the National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey, NFCMS, conducted in 2021, revealed that “approximately eleven million (33%) of children aged under 5 years in Nigeria are stunted, while four million children (12%) are wasted with an astonishing 21 million (62%) children suffering from anaemia.

“In Enugu state, NDHS 2018 reveals that 14.8% of children under-five are stunted, 6.1% are underweight, and 2.5% are wasted.

“This statistics translates to over 159,000 stunted children and over 24,000 wasted children in Enugu State.”

He further stated that in response to these pressing challenges, “CS-SUNN is implementing the ‘Increased Investment in Nutrition to Scale-Up Quality Nutrition Services’ in Enugu State, a fruitful collaboration between UNICEF and CS-SUNN, aimed at realising a vision of a Nigeria where every citizen has access to food and nutrition security.”

On the way forward, CS-SUNN advocated that “budget releases and utilisation for nutrition programming at Federal level and in Enugu State be increased from 2 million to 3 million USD by Oct 2024;

“Maternity and Exclusive Breast Feeding (EBF) protection through the extension of maternity leave to six months from the current four months in Enugu State;

“The media are urged to provide increased coverage and visibility for nutrition related issues in Nigeria;

“We urge the private sector to support policy implementation through the development of low cost, nutritious complementary foods and home fortification of staple foods and creation of office creches;

“CSOs/NGOs should advocate for the implementation of maternal and child nutrition interventions, promote sustained community health education on nutrition, advocate for the implementation of six months maternity protection with pay and advocate for Nutrition budget releases.”