About 10 northern states of Gombe, Kano, Adamawa, Yobe,? Bauchi, Borno, Taraba, Nasarawa, and Plateau,? were all rated as the peculiar states at the risk of Sahelian crises, following the increasing incidents of severe acute malnutrition of Sahelian states in northern Nigeria.
During a one-day sensitisation workshop with media practitioners in Kano, the participants undertook a field visit to a community with acute malnutrition problem at Malikawa Garu in Bichi, Local Government of Kano state where the participants saw the effects of malnutrition on under aged children.
UNICEF urged media practitioners to increase reportage on the severity of malnutrition to promote awareness among stakeholders.
It also called on the government in these states to provide more funds and other resources to scale up the services and provision of routine drugs towards the management of severe acute malnutrition in the areas.
It urged states to emulate? Jigawa by establishing a statutory committee on food and nutrition as provided for in the national nutrition policy.
UNICEF urged the government to create separate budget for the implementation of state nutrition plan of action to identified malnourished children in the communities and gives them required treatment they deserve.