As the United Nations Children’s
Fund announced that over a million Nigerian children are suffering from acute
malnutrition, Nigerian Army in the fight against insurgents burnt over
N60million worth of dried fish and meat capable of ameliorating this
malnutrition challenge, writes REMMY NWEKE.
Applause for CMAM:
THE Federal Government of Nigeria and United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) where recently commended for
endeavoring through the Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM)
to reach over a million Nigerian children with a highly successful and cost-effective
treatment for acutely malnourished children, saving over 200,000 lives in the
past six years.
According to reports sighted by NaijaAgroNet
about 1.7 million Nigerian children under the age of five years were
severely and acutely malnourished, thus accounting for a tenth of the global
total. Even as approximately a thousand Nigerian children die of
malnutrition-related causes every day; a total of 361,000 each year as acute
malnutrition also leads to stunt in children’s growth, thereby causing
life-long physical limitations and reduction in intellectual capacity.
The Chief of Communication at
UNICEF, Doune Porter,revealed that the latest success came through
Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) which was piloted in
Gombe and Kebbi States in 2009 and has now been introduced in 11 northern
Nigerian states where malnutrition poses the greatest threat.
Malnourishment acute in children
under five:
She said, CMAM treats acutely
malnourished children from six months to five years old on an out-patient
basis, just as over 830,000 children, NaijaAgroNet learnt, have been
cured in the programme with the cure rate rising steadily – currently standing
at 85 per cent. Of the remaining children, about two per cent do not respond to
treatment and are referred to hospitals; the current mortality rate, the report
said, is just one per cent, while the other children have defaulted from the
programme.
“We must scale-up CMAM in
Nigeria. It is a proven high-impact intervention that is saving lives and
helping Nigerian children reach their full potential through a good start in
life,” noted UNICEF Nigeria Representative Jean Gough. “We need greater
investment in Nigeria’s future by investment in good nutrition,” she added.
Nigeria government committed:
“The Government of Nigeria is
committed to reaching more children with CMAM,” said Linus Awute, Permanent
Secretary of the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health, “We cannot accept that
Nigerian children continue to die of malnutrition and that our potential future
leaders should be diminished by its effects.”
CMAM, NaijaAgroNet learnt,
is carried out during weekly appointments over approximately eight weeks at
primary health care centres. It includes education of parents and caregivers on
nutrition, the importance of continuing breast-feeding and the role of
hand-washing and hygiene. The nutrition status of the children is assessed
during the CMAM sessions and children are given a health screening; if
necessary, they are also treated for other illnesses. Children are given highly
nutritious Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) during the sessions and mothers
and caregivers are provided with supplies of RUTF to feed the child at home.
The cost for CMAM is just US$160,
about N34,400 for each child treated, including US$76 about N16,340 for the
RUTF; the remaining US$84 N18,060covers all other costs, including staff time
and training, transport and storage of supplies, and basic medicines. UNICEF
and the Government of Nigeria are scaling up the CMAM response and UNICEF is
advocating increased investment in CMAM from both the Government of Nigeria and
external donors.
1,000 children died today is
media listening:
Nutrition and media experts have
called for media partnership so as to curb the rising rate of child
malnutrition, even as estimated over 1,000 children die daily, reports NaijaAgroNet.
This was the tune of discussions
from the dialogue organized by UNICEF and facilitated by Communication
Specialist, Geoffrey Njoku, with participants drawn from both traditional and
online media.
Likewise, the UNICEF Chief of
Communication, Doune Porter, stressed the need for media partnership so as to
attract the necessary intervention to stop child malnutrition in the country.
Nigeria needs well-nourished
children for growth:
Doune Porter, said healthy and
well-nourished children are needed for the future of Nigeria, calling on the
media to sustain the partnership.
In his presentation on “An
overview of malnutrition in Nigeria and its impact on children, UNICEF’s Chief
Nutritionist, Mr. Arjan De Gwat, spoke extensively on the nutrition values of
foods that he classified as macronutrients and micronutrients.
As said by him, 55 percent
of child deaths are attributed to malnutrition, adding that malnutrition of the
mother could result in disability of the child or miscarriage.
Mr. Arjan, said malnutrition
could also lead to reduction in mental capacity and ultimately poor education
of the child, advising mothers to embrace exclusive breastfeeding for at least
six months, asserting, “Exclusive breastfeeding has the potential to save more
children’s lives than any other preventive intervention,” he said.
Nigerian
military seizes, burns over 2,000 cartons of dried fish:
Many Nigerians
were delighted at the first week of
September when the military announced the seizure of over 2,000 cartons of
smoked fishes also known in local parlance as ‘dry fishes’ in addition to
several bags of dried meat worth about N50 million, allegedly from Boko Haram
on transit.
According to the
Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel TukurGusau said these smoked
fish and dried meat, were impounded from Boko Haram terrorists from different
communities in Borno State of North-East Nigeria.
“The cartons of
the dried fish are believed to be seized from innocent fishermen and business
men by the terrorists who later sell them at ridiculous mount to finance their
terrorists’ activities,” Col. Gusau, who also is the spokesman of 7 Division
Nigerian Army, Maiduguri, told newsmen at the burning ground of cartons offish.
“By burning of
this fishes, we’re sending strong message to the insurgents to change their
terror act because an end is at sight. We’re determined with the support of
patriotic Nigerians to end Boko Haram and other terror acts in the country,” he
said.
Malnourished IDP
children and burnt fishes:
However, as many
Nigerians that commended the Army for the seizure, sooner than later turned
against their burning of the dried fish and meat in the face of hunger in the
region, especially children who are highly malnourished due to the activities
of Boko Haram.
For many
Nigerians, what stops the government from handing over the seizures to the
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) now located over the northern part of the
country, especially for the nutrients contained thereof.
But some school
of thought were quick to add that the reason behind the burning of dried fishes
and meat could be for the fear of that being a ploy from Boko Haram, and could
contain poison to get those Nigerians they could not kill by bomb and Extremely
Insensitive Detonating Substance (EIDs).
A role for
NAFDAC et al:
While some also canvassed that
even if the scare of poison was the army reason, Nigeria has several scientific
agencies including the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and
Control (NAFDAC) and some 14 agricultural based research institutes, such as
the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR), charged
with fisheries research; Federal Department of Fisheries (FDF), mandated with
fisheries development. This is in addition to two fisheries research institutes
namely the Lake Chad Research Institute, Maiduguri, Borno State and Kainji Lake
Research Institute in New Bussa, Niger State.
Fishery nightmares:
A concerned Nigeria, Mrs. Lara
Owoye-Wise, lamented that taking a closer look at the consignment before they
were set ablaze, one could easily recall that the insurgents raided fishing
communities, killed some of the fishermen and carted away their neatly packed
cartons of fish meant for sale. They were on their way back to their camp
before the Army intercepted them.
For her, the actions of the Army
by burning the fishes and meat were disturbing decisions which gives
nightmares, lamenting that “It’s not right oh. Okay, the Nigerian military
intercepts trailer loads of dried fish and other sources of protein from
fleeing terrorists in Borno State and what does our military do with the seized
items? They make a burn fire and destroy the rich sources of protein estimated
at millions of naira!”
Quickly, she recollects that at a
shouting distance, were children dying of malnutrition, mothers’ breastmilk
gone dry and the little quantity those breasts produce, is lucid and bereft of
nutrients.
“And you guys destroy tonnes upon tonnes of dried fish, just like that! This
doesn’t sit well at all,”she said.
Wondering how wasteful Nigeria has become, Lara lamented that those fishes
could have added some flesh on those skinny frames.
Watch out … it could be a bait:
Baba Aye noted that the burnt
cartons of fish were from insurgents which does not vitiate the protein content
in them and that would have ameliorated the malnourishment consuming millions
of poor people in the region.
For the duo of Messrs Michael
Joshua Ojo and Mathew Akinyoola who felt the same way too, but later realized
that those animals could have been used as bait for their targets. Mr.
Akinyoola, declaring “Oh No..those fishes may have been poisoned.”
Another member of their school of
thought, Amaobi Nwachukwu said that those fishes may be poisoned baits, as
such, falling for the bait would have enabled the insurgents to accomplish more
than they would have done effortlessly.
Adeniyi Adetola said that if they
are not destroyed now, it does not take an evil genius to have a large
consignment of same poisoned and then make the military intercept the poisoned
consignment to be distributed; what do we say then? And if I may ask, if given
to you would you eat?
Adding his voice to the argument,
Mr. Flourish Atoju thinks the ideal thing to do was burn them off, as it was
uncertain the safety of those products.
Yet, another perspective came on
board from Mr. Abdul Jimoh, who sought to know if there is any law in Nigeria
empowering security agencies to burn seized goods. Asking, “If anyone has a law
that empowers security agents to burn items impounded, I should be grateful if
the person could educate me with citations of the extant enabling laws! It’s a
totally different thing to incinerate...
Bringing child malnutrition on
front burner:
Like the Coordinator, African
Centre for Media and Information Literacy, Mr. Chido Onuma, said in his
presentation on media advocacy required to keep the issue of child malnutrition
on the front burner. Emphasising on how the media can support advocacy for
increased resources for nutrition programming.
He therefore, charged the media
to sensitize governments at all levels to increase resources to enhance child
nutrition, and do more of features, special reports and editorials to sustain
focus on child malnutrition in the country.
Proper examination of those burnt
fishes and meats could have solve a huge problem for Nigeria only if our
agencies, especially those concerned with food and drug administration were
engaged adequately to ensure that every of these fishes are well screened
before giving same out to avoid the scare of poison in any case.
The war against malnutrition is
surmountable through proper planning and use of available resources.
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