The Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) has issued an urgent call to state governors to immediately unlock the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF), warning that the failure to release counterpart funding is crippling efforts to combat a deadly anaemia epidemic ravaging the country.
Speaking in Abuja during a media workshop on the Media Role for Anaemia Prevention, the organisation described the CNF as a “win-win” lifeline where every Naira released by a state government is matched by donors to provide double the value in life-saving nutrition commodities.
CS-SUNN’s Executive Secretary, Mr Sunday Okonkwo lamented that despite the availability of this matching fund, many states are yet to buy in, leaving essential drugs like Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) and Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) out of stock in primary healthcare centres.
“The Child Nutrition Fund presents a unique opportunity resulting in two naira worth of life-saving commodities for every one naira contributed.
“These are preventable situations. We need government at all levels to take the right actions by prioritising the procurement of these commodities,” the Executive Secretary stated.
The urgency of the call was underscored by grim statistics presented at the event by the Assistant Director of the Department of Nutrition in the Ministry of Health, Mrs Helen Achimugu.
The Assistant Director revealed that anaemia, often caused by hidden hunger or micronutrient deficiency, now affects a staggering 68 percent of children under five and 58 percent of women of reproductive age.
“This burden is a major contributor to maternal mortality and child morbidity in Nigeria,” the Assistant Director warned, noting that the condition leads to stillbirths, pre-term deliveries, and poor brain development in children.
While the Federal Government has successfully updated the National Essential Medicine List to replace the Iron Folic Acid (IFA) with the more effective MMS for pregnant women, the supply chain remains broken.
Assessments in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) reveal that even where policies exist, shelves are empty.
“Current assessments show that life-saving commodities are unavailable in several facilities, putting children’s lives at serious risk,” CS-SUNN’, Executive Secretary noted.
The group insists that until governors show political will by releasing funds to trigger the donor match, federal policies will not translate into survival for the millions of vulnerable women and children across the nation.
