Bauchi establishes more centres to tackle malnutrition cases

Executive chairman of Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA), Adamu Ibrahim Gamawa has informed that the state will establish 10 new community management centres across the state  in 2017 to tackle acute malnutrition among children. He stated this in Bauchi on Saturday while speaking on the rising cases of malnutrition among children across […]

Executive chairman of Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA), Adamu Ibrahim Gamawa has informed that the state will establish 10 new community management centres across the state  in 2017 to tackle acute malnutrition among children.

He stated this in Bauchi on Saturday while speaking on the rising cases of malnutrition among children across the state.‎

He added that the centres will be established with the support of UNICEF to cater for the over 800, 000 malnourished children in the state.

Gamawa informed that UNICEF has been supporting the state with various interventions to tackle malnutrition in the state which includes providing supplement being fed to the children at the centres.‎

‎Reports have indicated that over 13,000 children were malnourished in Dambam local government area of the state.

Nutrition officer of the local government Ahmed Idi confirms the figures when he received a delegation led by the  Chairman, State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA ) who was on a tour of the centres across the state.

He said that the children were attending treatment at the Dambam community management for acute malnutrition programme in 2016.

He however noted that out of the number only 3.755 were successfully treated after receiving supplementary feeding for a period of eight weeks.

Idi informed that the Dambam local government has five out patient therapeutic sites attending to cases of malnutrition.

He lamented that  most of the parents are fond of defaulting which resulted in the low number of children treated within the period.

The Nutrition officer said that enlightenment is still ongoing to encourage care givers on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding, complementary feeding and personal hygiene.

When Journalists visited one of maternal and child health centers in Chadi, they saw  a large turnout of mothers who came with their children’s to receive the plumpy nuts to give to their malnourished children.

According to the person in charge of the facility,  Ibrahim Lamarck, the Chadi centre recorded a success in 2016 as it successfully treated 865 malnutrition cases out of 883 reported at the centre.

He however expressed dismay over lack of routine drugs meant to complement the nutritional food given to the children.

He said that some  mothers trek long distances to access the treatment centres and are asked to buy drugs which was free in the past.

"This however has not deter the women. Some come to the centre with their husbands,"he said.