By Khalid Idris Doya
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has handed over 19,981 cartons of life-saving nutrition commodities to the Bauchi State Government to support the fight against child malnutrition.
The supplies include 4,562 cartons of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) for the treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition among children aged six to 59 months, and 15,419 cartons of Small Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements (SQ-LNS) aimed at preventing malnutrition among children aged six to 23 months.
Speaking during the handover ceremony held at the Bauchi State Agricultural Development Programme (BSADP) on Saturday, the state Governor Bala Mohammed reaffirmed his administration's commitment to strengthening primary healthcare services across the state.
Represented by his deputy, Rt. Hon. Muhammad Auwal Jatau, the governor said improving reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, nutrition, immunisation and other primary healthcare services remains a top priority of his government.
The nutrition commodities were procured by the Bauchi State Government through UNICEF under the Child Nutrition Fund.
Governor Mohammed revealed that the state government contributed N300 million in 2025 to the Child Nutrition Fund as a matching grant and plans to release N500 million in 2026 to further strengthen nutrition interventions.
He said the government remains committed to reducing malnutrition and childhood morbidity and mortality in the state, while also pledging continued adherence to the Abuja Declaration, which recommends allocating at least 15 percent of the total state budget to the health sector.
The governor also reiterated the state's commitment to meeting all its counterpart funding obligations, including contributions under the Primary Health Care Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
"Last year alone, the government released over N872 million as counterpart funding into the PHC MoU Basket Fund account jointly operated by the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Board," he said.
He commended UNICEF and other development partners for their continuous support to ensure that women and children in Bauchi State enjoy better health outcomes.
Governor Mohammed also directed the Primary Health Care Board, through the State Ministry of Health, to reconstitute a monitoring committee to ensure proper distribution and utilisation of the nutrition commodities.
Earlier, the Chief of the UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Dr. Nuzhat Rafique, expressed concern that Bauchi remains among the states with the highest burden of malnutrition in Nigeria.
According to her, more than 61 percent of children between 6 and 23 months are undernourished, while about 92,000 children are suffering from wasting, and 61 percent are stunted.
She described the situation as alarming and called for urgent and sustained interventions to address the challenge.
Dr. Rafique emphasised that while the provision of therapeutic foods such as RUTF and SQ-LNS is crucial, greater efforts must also be made to prevent malnutrition at the household level through improved access to nutritious food and better feeding practices.
She noted that Bauchi State's N300 million contribution to the Child Nutrition Fund had been matched with another N300 million from the fund, effectively doubling the resources available for life-saving nutrition commodities.
She commended the Bauchi State Government and development partners including the UK, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Children:s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) for supporting the initiative.
Dr. Rafique also raised concern about the nutritional situation among internally displaced persons from Alkaleri Local Government Area who are currently taking refuge in Kashere, Gombe State.
According to her, a recent nutrition assessment revealed that over 80 percent of children in the camp are malnourished, while nearly 80 percent are classified as zero-dose children, meaning they have not received routine immunization.
She attributed the situation to security challenges that disrupted access to health services in their communities.
Dr. Rafique appealed to Bauchi State health authorities to allocate part of the newly supplied nutrition commodities to support the displaced children, noting that the camp urgently requires 200 cartons of RUTF and 100 cartons of SQ-LNS.
She also appreciated the Bauchi State Government for its commitment to allocate N500 million for nutrition interventions in 2026, which she said could attract an additional matching fund from the Child Nutrition Fund.
"With this partnership and commitment, we are confident that we can make significant progress in addressing child malnutrition in Bauchi State," she said.
Also speaking, the State Commissioner for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Sani Muhammad Dambam, said data from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) shows that Bauchi has 61.7 percent stunting among children, 5.2 percent wasting, and 68.6 percent anaemia among women aged 15 to 49.
He said the state government is working closely with development partners, particularly UNICEF, to improve the nutritional status of women and children through increased funding, improved supply of nutrition commodities and strengthened primary healthcare services.
Dr. Dambam added that 601 healthcare workers have been trained to deliver nutrition services across selected health facilities in the state.
He also disclosed that 20 Local Government Food and Nutrition Committees have been inaugurated, headed by deputy chairmen in each LGA, to support the implementation of nutrition programmes across the state.
The committees will work with the State Committee on Food and Nutrition chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Budget and Multilateral Coordination and report to the State Council on Nutrition headed by the Deputy Governor.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in Bauchi State and Chairman of Bauchi Local Government Area, Mahmud Babamaji, said the 20 local government councils contributed N100 million to the nutrition fund, while the state government provided N200 million, bringing the total to N300 million dedicated to food and nutrition interventions.
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