By Danjuma Àttah, Gombe
Gombe State Government has commenced a deliberate process of reversing the negative trend of malnutrition, especially among children.
This will be done through stepping down nutrition interventions across all the eleven (11) Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.
The State Deputy Governor, Manasseh Daniel Jatau, who represented Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya at the inauguration of the Local Government Committee on Food and Nutrition (LGCFN), held at Linmana Event Center Tunfure, emphasised the administration’s determination to tackle malnutrition head-on.
According to him, the LGCFN is a replication of the State Committee on Food and Nutrition (SCFN), aimed at domestication of the Federal Government’s N-774 Nutrition Initiative across all LGAs.
He also distributed vital documents outlining the specific mandates and membership lists of the newly inaugurated committees, while stressing the need for every household in the State to be nutrition friendly by eating the right kind of food so as to grow properly and live healthy.
Earlier, the commissioner, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Alhaji Salihu Baba Alkali, described the event as another milestone in a collective efforts towards having a healthier, more food secure Gombe State.
He said the Local Government Committees on food and nutrition represents a crucial step towards addressing the pressing challenges of food insecurity and malnutrition that affect all and sundry.
He emphasised that the committees have an important role to play in driving development and improving the lives of the citizens of Gombe State to serve as vanguard of harnessing local resources surrounding food security and nutrition.
He pointed out that Gombe State has a clear vision, where everyone should have access to nutritious food, “where our children grow strong and healthy, and where communities thrive”.
Alhaji Salihu Baba then charged the Chairmen of various LGAs and members of the committees to work tirelessly to identify and address local food security challenges, develop effective nutrition documents, foster partnership with stakeholders as well as monitor and evaluate the impact at all levels.
In their goodwill messages, the State Commissioner for Health Dr. Habu Dahiru and that of Local Governments, Alhaji Abubakar Waziri, called for sustained partnerships with organisations like UNICEF and WHO for the desired results to be achieved.
They both applauded the agencies for their ongoing support and appealed for continued collaboration to further improve child nutrition outcomes in Gombe and across Northern Nigeria.
Speaking on behalf of the Local Government Chairmen, the State ALGON Chairman who is also the Chairman of Gombe LGA, Sani Haruna, expressed profound gratitude for the continued support received from the State Government.
Sani Haruna thanked the leadership of Governor Inuwa Yahaya for initiating Programmes that targets the less privileged and downtrodden in the communities while assuring that the inaugurated committee will work tirelessly to improve food security, nutrition and the overall well-being of the State.
The event also witnessed the signing of the working documents by the representatives of the State Government and the Local Governments.
End.
