Malnutrition: 5m children under threat in Kano

Kano state government has said that over 500, 000 children of under five years are under threat of malnutrition related issues in the state.

This was disclosed by Governor Abdullahi Umar during the launching of a dietary diversification project supported by United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF) held at the state government house.

He said reports had shown that the affected children were prone to death before  the age of five, adding that the rate of stunted growth in children was rampant in the state, describing the situation as  worrisome.

“Locally, we have the required food to address the issue, we only need to sensitize our people especially those in the rural areas on how to use the available crops and legumes to achieve balance diet,” the governor said.

In her address, field officer, UNICEF Katsina office, Zohra Nissi disclosed that, Nigeria was a country with the second highest number of malnourished children.

She said UNICEF in efforts to aid the state government in the fight against stunting,  the fund would expend a reasonable amount of money as counterpart funding to fight the scourge.