The wife of the Umar Namadi, Governor of Jigawa State, Hadiza Umar, has strongly condemned the diversion and sale of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) meant for treating severely malnourished children.
Umar expressed her concern when the State Director of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr Ahmad Tijjani, led a team comprising representatives of UNICEF, the Jigawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency (JSPHCDA), and media organizations on an advocacy visit to her office in Dutse.
“It is disturbing that the RUTF provided by the state government and partners for the treatment of severely malnourished children is being sold in local markets, undermining efforts to address child malnutrition.
“This breaks my heart as a mother. RUTF is not ordinary food; it is lifesaving medicine and it must remain free for the children who need it most.
“No mother can stay silent when what belongs to her child is taken away. We must stand together to stop this wrongdoing.
“A mother cannot accept losing a child when treatment exists. Speak to other women, your husbands and your neighbors. Encourage them to protect this lifesaving food,” she said.
She also urged residents and other stakeholders to report anyone seen selling or buying the commodity so that no child suffers or dies because the help meant for them was stolen.
Earlier, the NOA director said the visit was part of a campaign against the diversion of humanitarian aid provided by state and federal governments, partners and other stakeholders, particularly RUTF.
He said the agency was engaging stakeholders across Jigawa State to curb the illegal diversion and sale of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food meant for treating severe acute malnutrition in children.
Tijjani stressed the need to ensure that RUTF reaches severely malnourished children rather than being sold in local markets.
He added that the campaign was being conducted in collaboration with UNICEF and the Jigawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency.
“It has been estimated that each malnourished child needs a carton of RUTF to survive, and if one carton is diverted, we risk losing a life,” he said.
According to him, a rapid survey conducted in states under the UNICEF Kano Field Office — comprising Kano State, Katsina State and Jigawa State — identified poverty as one of the major reasons some parents sell RUTF meant for their malnourished children.
