Residents Applaud Supplements For Nursing Mothers From Plateau Govt, UNICEF

Residents of Jos North local government area of Plateau State have lauded  the collaboration of the state government with the UNICEF nutrition program to  bring relief to households by providing Small Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements and fortified, ready-to-use nutrition products to prevent malnutrition in infants and children.

The ward head, Nassarawa A, Mallam Abdullahi Rabiu, gave the commendation during the distribution of the supplements to nursing mothers at PHC Nassarawa Gwom monitored by our correspondent in Jos at the weekend.

According to him, without the joint intervention of the state government and UNICEF, many children in the area would be malnourished with stunted growth.

The supplements help in supporting early intervention to prevent moderate and severe malnutrition among children aged six to 11 months.

Some nursing mothers told our correspondent that the supplements had improved their children’s health and reduced feeding costs.

A breastfeeding mother, Mrs Hauwa Mohammed,  said her 10 months-old baby now looks very healthy and active.

“I mix the supplements with her pap, and she gains strength quickly. I also spend less on feeding now.

Before, I spent a lot buying other ingredients. Now, I only need red millet to prepare pap with the supplement,” she said.

Another nursing mother, Sarah Bulus, said before now, her baby looked very tiny and sick, adding that the program had simplified nutrition at home.

“My baby is now strong and healthy, I no longer need multiple ingredients for pap. It really helps her grow very quickly,” she said.

Also speaking, another nursing mother, Rakiya Shauibu, said her baby immediately began to crawl and hold things for the first time after she started giving the supplement.

Reacting, the chief community health worker in charge of public health centres in Nassarawa Gwom Jos, Mrs Rahilatu Ademu,  called for its sustenance.

She said many nursing mothers were participating, adding that the officials mobilise mothers on the distribution days every Wednesday while uptake had been very high across the local government area.

Plateau State nutrition officer Mr. Silas Nansel told  newsmen  that the program began with N200 million released by the state government, matched with another N200 million by UNICEF under the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF).

According to him,  the initial funding enabled the distribution of SQ-LNS in two health facilities per local government in the state.

He noted that the program had shown positive results and may be scaled to include children up to 23 months, depending on supplies, adding that early indications showed improvements in children’s growth, strength and immunity, while families save on feeding expenses