Bauchi Assembly probes N1b nutrition fund amid child malnutrition crisis

The Bauchi State government has expressed surprise over data showing that the child poverty rate in the state is alarming, with eight out of 10 children being multidimensionally poor.

Reacting to revelations about the N1 billion spent over two years in Bauchi, during a two-day dialogue on advocacy and sensitization organised for members of the Bauchi and Plateau State Houses of Assembly, the Bauchi State Speaker, Abubakar Suleiman, after seeing the worrisome data showing several children on the verge of dying, said the state had spent billions on nutrition and pledged to probe the spending.

“This is worrisome. Something is wrong somewhere. Honourable Members, with your permission, I want to suggest that the House Committee on Food and Nutrition embark on an oversight function to find out what went wrong,” he said.

The state has since closed its Centres for the Management of Acute Malnutrition due to a stockout of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) needed for the treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition.

According to available data, the state leads the Northeast subregion in cases of malnourished children.

Governor Bala Mohammed had last year promised to release counterpart funding to procure the commodity when UNICEF Ambassador Kate Henshaw visited the state earlier in 2024. However, one year later, the money has not been released.

Bauchi State has also yet to take advantage of the global Child Nutrition Fund (CNF), which provides a 50 per cent counterpart fund.

The meeting, held in Jos, Plateau State, was organised by the State Committee on Food and Nutrition, Ministry of Budget, Economic Planning, and Multilateral Coordination, with support from UNICEF.

The event, which focused on adequate budgetary appropriation for nutrition, had 30 out of 31 members of the Assembly in attendance.