As part of efforts to tackle the spread of malnutrition especially among children in Sokoto State, not less than five hundred million naira has been earmarked in the 2024 budget to tackle the menace.
The state Director Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Buhari Umar stated this while speaking with journalists on Friday during a one-day media roundtable on the ‘increased investment in nutrition to scale-up quality nutrition services’ held at Pinnacle Guest Inn, Sokoto.
The workshop which was organised by UNICEF in conjunction with CS-SUNN was aimed at enlightening journalists in the state on why they should advocate more government support in tackling malnutrition in the state.
He assured that his ministry would ensure the release of the money and ensure it is used for the purpose it was earmarked for in the budget.
He called on working journalists in the state to always keep the government on its toes to ensure proper implementation of budgets for the benefit of the residents of the state.
In her remark, the programme manager, CS-SUNN, a national civil society group, Dr Goodness Anyanwu, urged the media to push out the required information to bring the real level of nutrition, especially among children to the notification of the government.
She said in the last 10 years, CS-SUNN has been in the driving seat advocating for better nutrition in society.
She reemphasised that two million dollars was released into the economy across the country last year while calling for improvement of up to three million dollars this current year.
According to her, “We need to build and focus on reversing the trend through concerted efforts by promoting nutrition activities with responsive alliance on specifics across NGOs, youths and community-based organisations and the academia.”
Anyawu disclosed that CS-SUNN was fast-tracking efforts at strengthening its capacity by deliberately strategizing results results-oriented approach by engaging donor organisations through various organs.
”We want to encourage the same approach in Sokoto state to enable partners to drive the vision.“