200,000 children are malnourished in Kaduna, says El-Rufai’s wife

The wife of Kaduna state governor, Mrs. Ummi El-Rufai, has said there are over 200,000 children still suffering from malnutrition in the state.

The governor’s wife, who is also the founder of Kaduna Emergency Nutrition Action Plan (KADENAP), disclosed this at the 4th National Executive Council and Scientific Meeting organised by Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN ) held in Kaduna.

She said there is need for serious efforts and commitment to tackle the problem across the state.

She noted that KADENAP has trained about 245 health workers in about 11 local government areas of the state on how to assist malnourished children in rural areas.

“We need to join hands to help fight malnutrition in the state, particularly in rural areas because it’s still an issue in Nigeria,” she said.

In her remarks, the wife of Niger State Governor, Dr Amina Sani Bello, lamented over lack of proper funding of public hospitals across the country.

She called on state governments to renovate as well as provide enough funding for public hospitals to enable them provide quality services to patients.

She added that Niger State is among one of the highest states with malnutrition risk.

“Nutrition is very important for children and so far we have treated about 1,500 malnourished children in Niger state. Fortunately, none have severe malnutrition,” she said.

She added that women need to be cared for to fight malnutrition in the country, adding that poverty is what leads to malnutrition among children.

Also in her remarks, the National President of MWAN, Dr Joyce Barbes, said the theme: ‘Preventing Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)’ at the meeting was chosen because women are more vulnerable to NCDs.

She said women need to be aware of it so that they can help improve the lives of their families and for doctors to give it a priority when seeing their patients in the communities.