The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has allocated $10 million for the procurement of ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF).
This move is part of UNICEF’s efforts to combat disabilities and deaths resulting from acute malnutrition, especially among children across the country,
The UNICEF Chief of Nutrition in Nigeria, Nemat Hajeebhoy, disclosed this during a virtual consultative meeting of the Minister of Health with local producers of nutrition commodities.
Describing the RUTF as lifesaving, the UNICEF said Nigeria, with 17 million malnourished children at any point and 2.2 million children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM), is currently first in Africa and second in the world with the highest burden of malnourished children.
She said: “We must ensure that the resources allocated by the government to combat malnutrition are utilised. SAM is a major killer, and it puts a child 11 times more at the risk of dying of other diseases. If not treated, about 19 per cent of the 2.2 million children with severe acute malnutrition will die.
“Children with SAM can be treated with ready-to-use therapeutic foods. We also need to boost the local production of RUTF.
“UNICEF, in partnership with the government, is committed to scaling up the treatment of acute malnutrition. In Nigeria, from 2018, UNICEF has spent between $11 million to $21 million on RUTF. For 2021, UNICEF will spend $10 million on RUTF.”
Health Minister Dr. Osagie Ehanire assured of the Federal Government’s full support for domestic production and would support any step to facilitate it.
