Enugu State Commissioner for Budget and planning, David Okelue Ugwunta has promised to ensure that all budgets from various ministries aimed at improving the nutrition status of the state will be reviewed upwards.
The commissioner made this known in a one-day pre-budget high level engagement meeting for state executives, legislature and policy makers in the state, organised by Enugu State Ministry of Budget and planning in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
“We will make sure we try our best to coordinate all other members of the committee, from the ministry of health, agencies, information, agriculture, water resources, education, science and technology, and others, we will carry out all positions in the budget,” he said.
Ugwunta noted that with the outcome of the meeting, his ministry would make sure that everything that has to do with nutrition would be adequately provided for in the budget and where they cannot pin them down in various implementing NDAs, they would have a pull of fund under the Ministry of Budget and Planning where the implementing agencies can draw fund from and continue to engage in their activities, as it relates to nutrition to avoid malnutrition.
“If you look at the statistics, the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) is telling us that Enugu requires about N1.2billion to solve the issue of malnutrition in the state, and if we do not spend N1.2 billion now to solve what we have at hand that by next year or two years’ time, we are going to spend double that amount,” he said.
He also promised that awareness, prevention supplements with Vitamin A and other supplements needed by pregnant women and children to grow are all taken care of by the year 2022.
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Ugwunta commended United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for always partnering with the state government not only on nutrition challenges but other issues concerning mother and children in the state, pointing out that UNICEF engagement in the state is yielding more fruits.
In her opening remark Maureen Zubbie-Okolo, Officer-in-Charge UNICEF Enugu Field Office said 15 percent of children under five years in Enugu State are stunted according to NDHS 2018.
According to her, the situation is a call for the state to actually invest in nutrition, not just the ministry of health but all the stakeholders need to come together both at the executive and legislature level to ensure nutrition is a priority.
“In order to address the issue of malnutrition you have to use multi- multi-sectoral approach so beyond just the ministry of health you have the ministry of education, information, media, CSOs all coming together to ensure that the discussion on nutrition continues.
“The poor state of nutrition for children can be attributed largely to poor maternal, infant and young child feeding practice during the first 1000 days from pregnancy to two years of age,” he said.
She said that only 7.8 percent receive the minimum acceptable diet( NNHS, 2018) less than one fifth of the children with the ages of 0-5 months are exclusively breastfed(MIC2016).
The Officer-in-Charge UNICEF Enugu field Office said that UNICEF is committed to working with its entire partner in government, UN agencies, civil societies and the private sector to help propel the global movement forward.
“UNICEF is involved because nutrition is a critical part of development in children. Poor nutrition in any pregnant woman affects the development of the child in the womb. UNICEF is particularly interested in nutrition because of the dynamics and socio-economic impact,” he said.
