No to kids’ nutritional deficiency

Recently, the Kano state Government took a swipe at its citizens and Nigerians generally when it charged families to be more responsive and responsible.
At the first round of the 2017 Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) programme organised by the state at Dambatta Local Government Area, the Deputy Governor, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar, disclosed that 39 per cent of Nigerian children suffer malnutrition and the highest number of such children are in the North-West.

“Figures indicated that 39 per cent of children under five years in Nigeria suffer from malnutrition cases and the North-West constitutes 52% of such children, which explained that out of every two children, one is malnourished”, the deputy governor said. He further said that the statistics were the outcome of a survey conducted over the past 30 years.
Prof. Abubakar, therefore, charged households in Kano state to provide simple balanced diets to pregnant women as an insurance against kids’ malnutrition, stunted growth, brain malfunction and psychological problems all of which affect the child’s development, learning capability and ability to interact freely with other children.

He also disclosed that the Kano state Government “is spending a huge amount of money in providing the needed nutritious foods to ensure healthy growth of children in the state”.
In the same vein, the Commissioner of Health, Dr. Kabiru Ibrahim Getso, said the state had made adequate provision for drugs and anti-malaria medicines for pregnant women in the state.

“The state government has made adequate provision for maternal drugs and other essential vaccines that protect pregnant women against malaria infection apart from the ongoing immunisation of pregnant women against meningitis,” he said.
Kano being a microcosm of the entire country, the revelation is an indication of the dire strait children all over the country are in. Lack of adequate nutrition is a growing concern in the health sector, and only a proper budgeting process which provides adequately for the sector can ameliorate this sad reality. This is in line with the World Health Organisation’s recommendation that five per cent of national budgets be dedicated to the health sector.

Though not a policy adopted and ratified by the WHO, countries that take the wellbeing of their citizens seriously are funding healthcare to avoid the calamity that Nigeria is presently contending with. Prioritising the nutrition of pregnant women is a protection for unborn children and a guarantee for their good health. This should be the concern of all states and health managers in the country.
According to UNICEF, 2.5m children suffer from acute malnutrition, while 37 per cent are at risk of stunted growth which is a direct consequence of malnutrition. It is, therefore, unacceptable for an oil-rich country like Nigeria to allow such a huge population to suffer while the wealth of the country is concentrated in the hands of a few.

After almost 57 years of nationhood, it is disheartening that malnutrition in children and inadequate provision for healthcare are still matters of grave concern. Governments continue to pay lip service to healthcare delivery, while the little budgeted for the same purpose is either embezzled or diverted to provide extra comfort for the rich.

Let it be known that a nation cannot survive without a good healthcare system for its future generations and the populace in general. Posterity will not forgive our present crop of leaders if they continue to squander the present and even the future.
We advise the Kano state Government to walk the talk by providing ‘nutritious foods’, medications and healthcare for pregnant women and children as it claimed it would do, and not just make political pronouncements as many states are wont to do.

We have had enough of political platitudes. Only positive action can turn the tide against imminent danger the country is faced with if the health of this group of people is endangered.
At individual levels, men should marry and have the number of wives and children they can take care of instead of hiding under the cover of religion to marry four wives, divorce, marry more and have many children without the financial wherewithal to feed and take care of their health needs and other basic necessities of life.

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