By Bayo Alabira
Children are said to be weak, fragile, and vulnerable to all kinds of infections at birth until they are given a preventive mechanism to protect them. That is why they need a special treatment and care from their parents and other authorities concerned or saddled with the responsibilities of their up keep.
To this end, there are national and international organizations that are non-governmental in nature, like the United Nations International Children Education Funds (UNICEF), which is known to be responsible in assisting children, by funding their education and offering free Health services to those found to be under fed due to poverty.
However, in Jigawa state there are high number of children affected with the problem of malnourishment. A large number of these children are mostly under five years, found in the rural areas where there are difficulties in getting enough nutrients that can give them the necessary needed proteins. The resulting effect of the lack of these essential nutrients in children under five exposes them to dangers of being infected with various diseases including diarrhea, malaria and typhoid respectively. Out of these children, 22 percent of them are under weight, while 129.396 of these children are said to had been treated in collaboration with the UNICEF.
For how long will this trend continue ravaging the societies at 21 century? Who is to blame? The government, the society or individuals? The answer to this unabated question was provided recently during a one day advocacy meeting on quality improvement(QI) of community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMMA) implementation in Jigawa state, held in Dutse, under the watchful eyes of the UNICEF Boss Regional office, Bauchi, MR Abdulai Kaikai, who assured the participants that “issues like malnutrition and education would be made to function very well in all the TEN states selected and supported by UNICEF in the North”.
In Jigawa state, Kaikai ensured that UNICEF is more than ready this time to increase the number of local government areas that are enjoying its support from 12 to a certain number to enable children under five to be supported. “Because we had seen the good result from 12 LGAs we are supporting”.
However he explained that “CMMA was brought to Nigeria as a result of nutrition crisis, there was food crisis in 2008 around Nigeria’s border areas with Niger Republic. Wherever there is nutrition shortages, there are problems that can lead to so many children under five to die.”
In 2010 there was low death rate recorded among the 49 special malnutrition treatment centres across the 12 LGAs supported by UNICEF in Jigawa state. Although in proceeding years there was a slight increase in death of children under five according to statistic. This made UNICEF spend over N803 Million on treatment of 129,396 cases of children below the age of five with various degrees of malnutrition problem across the 49 centres of the 12 selected LGAs in Jigawa state over the years.
It has further being discovered that in the last three years over 800,000 children with malnutrition cases were treated in Jigawa state in collaboration with UNICEF. It has also been stated that N10, 000 is the minimum treatment of each child for the period of 8 weeks, while Jigawa state government is expected to contribute N300 only for each child.
Therefore CMMA as a life saving scheme, children under five must be given a maximum access to medical and nutrition care, they must be given anti-malaria as well as food that makes them grow and survive. But all these can only be achieved if adequate resources are provided and the collaborative efforts are sustained.
Above all, if this programme is to be natured to succeed, then the 75 percent improved infrastructures in all the 49 centres across the 12 LGAs should be made to function very well. Chairs should be provided for the women attending the centres to site on. Because it was noted that most of these centres don’t have chairs.
The facilities in the centres should also be improved upon, community participation and community volunteers, close monitoring and supervision should be encouraged.
In conclusion, there is need for a standard programme that can be sustained and continue to be run even after the tenure of the local government chairmen. And allocation for this programme should be deducted from source monthly and be given to the Health agency that supervise the programme.
