FG, Partners Battle Child Malnutrition

The federal government is set to standardise the production of Tom Brown, a locally made complementary food for children as part of efforts to curb Nigeria’s worsening malnutrition crisis.

The director and head of nutrition department, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Mrs. Ladidi Bako-Aiyegbusi, said the government was developing national guidelines on Tom Brown Production and Implementation to ensure quality, safety and consistency across the country.

Bako-Aiyegbusi, who stated this on Thursday at a two-day stakeholders’ meeting to review the draft national guidelines on production of Tom Brown held in Abuja, noted that representatives from state ministries of health, agriculture, information, water resources, education and women affairs from states including Osun, Ondo, Borno, Edo, Kano and Taraba were participating in the review process.

She explained that Tom Brown, made from roasted cereals and legumes such as maize, millet, soybeans and groundnuts, had long been used in households as a nutritious weaning food, but lack of standard procedures has resulted in uneven quality.

“We want communities to start producing Tom Brown on a large scale and even generate income from it. Borno and Kano state governments have already started discussions on developing investment cases for its production,” she said.

She added that the new guidelines would support the ongoing revision of the National Strategic Plan of Action on Nutrition and help expand community-level production.