Group urges government to invest more in nutrition

The Civil Society Scaling-up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), has called on governments at all levels to expedite action in injecting more funds to improve nutrition in the country. The call was made at a briefing on the Partnership for Improving Nigeria Nutrition Systems (PINNS) project in Lagos.
 
According to the Executive Secretary, CS-SUNN, Beatrice Eluaka, “The partnership is targeted at strengthening the Nigerian nutrition systems with a view to be more Result-driven, Effective, Serviceable, Efficient and Transparent (RESET) in service delivery. It is also aimed at holding government accountable on commitments made to allocate, release and use transparently funds for implementation of high impact nutrition interventions in Nigeria through evidence-based advocacy.”
 
She noted that the project will also contribute to a reduction in malnutrition particularly among women and children while focusing on strengthening governance, policy implementation, effective coordination, financing, building the capacity of state actors, generation and effective communication of evidence and promoting accountability.
 
Malnutrition, she stressed, remains a key contributor to infant and maternal mortality and morbidity, poor cognitive development, increased severity of diseases, which adversely affect productivity in Nigeria. “According to the National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) 2013, more than five million new-borns in Nigeria lack essential nutrients and antibodies that would protect them from diseases and death as they are not being exclusively breastfed.