Civil Society Scaling-up Nutrition in Nigeria, a Non governmental organization has said that consumption of foods that do not contain adequate nutrition is one of the causes of maternal and child mortality in the country.
Chairperson advocacy steering committee of the Organization Mrs Aji Robbinson made the assertion on Wednesday during a meeting with stake holders on reducing maternal mortality in Nigeria held in Bauchi.
She said the event was meant to advocate the need to include nutrients in foods for nursing mothers and infants as part of measures to safeguard their health.
According to her, the program is being implemented in seven states of the country saying the Organization is recommending the use of micro-nutrients powder in children’s foods to make it highly nutritional for their healthy growth.
Robbinson called on the state government to come up with special budget for nutrition to ensure the procurement of the Micro-nutrients powder for distribution at hospitals to mothers adding that the micro nutrients powder should be added in foods given to infants after six months of exclusive breastfeeding.
“At six months, let there be complementary feeding for the child. And that is where the micro-nutrients powder comes in where the mother starts adding the micro-nutrients powder to the foods that the child will eat. We want to also promote the up take of local foods. When the child is six months, you don’t need to buy foreign milk, When he is six months, he had adequate milk, give him the foods we have here like millet, egg, our local foods,” se advised.
