The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) urges the Nigerian government to strengthen primary healthcare services to address acute malnutrition in children nationwide.
Chinwe Ezeife, Nutrition Specialist at UNICEF’s Kaduna field office, offered this advice during a screening of children and pregnant women for malnutrition in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
This health camp treatment center in Igabi LGA, Kaduna State, is one of 116 facilities established by UNICEF under its Health Camp Strategy to combat malnutrition.
Igabi LGA is classified as one of eight Zero-Dose LGAs in Kaduna, where many children have not received the Penta 1 vaccine.
In partnership with the Kaduna State government, UNICEF is screening 145,000 children across over 600 communities in Igabi to tackle malnutrition.
With the majority of the targeted children being under five, as well as women of reproductive age, UNICEF calls on the government to take decisive action against malnutrition.
With malnutrition accounting for more than 50 percent of under-five mortality, not addressing it directly will reflect severe child deprivation.
Editor : Ena Agbanoma
