Gombe perm sec wants improved fight against malnutrition

 

Gombe state government has been called upon to improve to scale up the prevention and treatment of malnutrition cases in the state.
Permanent Secretary, Gombe state Ministry of Economic Planning, Mr. Stephen Ayuba, made call while speaking on behalf of his Commissioner during an advocacy visit paid to the ministry by Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN).
“Gombe state government has to prevent and treat cases of malnutrition at the same time if it wants to win the war against malnutrition.
“The state government is very much aware of the reality of the cases in the state,” he added.
According to him, the state had long realised the situation, stressed however, that government and other partners must come together with a two pronged approach of prevention and treatment of existing cases.
He said the negative statistics in the state was already a big challenge to the state government. He therefore expressed belief that collaboration with stakeholders in confronting the challenge would go a long way in winning the war.
He said government had been partnering with organisations such as UNICEF, Save the Children International among others as well as releasing counterpart funds in that direction, adding that a memo was currently with the state executive council aimed at strengthening the activities of nutrition in the state.
Earlier, the state coordinator of CS-SUNN, Mrs. Comfort Mukollo Ali, stated that the purpose of the visit was to partner with the ministry in the area of food and nutrition, a situation that is calling for adequate resource allocation and timely release and mapping out a clear road map with roles and responsibilities for the various stakeholders.
She said areas of partnership include creating implementable milestones for mainstreaming nutrition in key ministries, agencies and departments of government as well as strategies for scaling up nutrition in public spheres including communities.

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