The Gombe State government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have unveiled a N1 billion intervention aimed at tackling acute malnutrition among children across the state.

The intervention, funded through a counterpart arrangement in which both the state government and UNICEF contributed N500 million each, will provide Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) for the treatment of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

Speaking during a monitoring exercise of the nutrition commodities, the Executive Secretary of the Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Abdulrahman Shuaibu, described malnutrition as one of the most serious public health challenges confronting the state.

Mr Shuaibu said the therapeutic food products would be distributed across all the local government areas to ensure affected children receive timely treatment and nutritional support.

“These emergency foods, known as Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food, are meant for the management of children with acute malnutrition. The Gombe State Government has provided N500 million as matching funds, while UNICEF also contributed N500 million, bringing the total investment to N1 billion,” he said.

He noted that the intervention was necessitated by the growing burden of child malnutrition in the state.

Malnutrition burden

According to findings from the 2023–2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), malnutrition remains a major concern in Gombe and across the North-east, with children facing high levels of stunting, wasting and underweight conditions.

The agency head said the government was closely monitoring the distribution process to ensure transparency and accountability.

“Gombe has a high number of malnourished children, and this situation has compelled the government to take decisive action. We are monitoring the distribution process closely to ensure that these commodities reach the intended beneficiaries,” he added.

Also speaking, UNICEF’s Vaccine Security and Logistics Representative in Gombe State, Abubakar Muhammad, said the intervention was informed by nutrition data indicating that many children require urgent nutritional support.

“Based on available data, we observed that many children are suffering from malnutrition and require these nutritional supplements. That is why UNICEF intervened by providing Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food for the management of malnourished children,” he said.

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Mr Muhammad noted that UNICEF had maintained a strong partnership with Gombe State over the past seven years, supporting various health and nutrition programmes aimed at improving child survival and development.

“UNICEF has been supporting Gombe State for the past seven years, and we remain committed to sustaining this intervention and other programmes that improve the health and nutrition of children,” he added.

Malnutrition remains a major public health concern in Nigeria, particularly among children under five. Severe acute malnutrition weakens immunity and significantly increases the risk of illness and death among affected children.

Health experts say severe acute malnutrition remains one of the leading causes of illness and death among children under five, particularly in vulnerable communities with limited access to nutritious food.

The new N1 billion investment is expected to provide life-saving treatment for thousands of children, offering renewed hope to families struggling with the devastating effects of malnutrition.

Gombe, UNICEF Launch N1bn Programme for Malnourished Children

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