The Sokoto State Government has set aside N500 million to combat the growing incidence of severe acute malnutrition among children in the state.
Governor Ahmad Aliyu disclosed this during a high-level advocacy visit led by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Prof. Nantewa Yilwatda. The announcement was conveyed in a statement by the Director-General of Media and Publicity to the Governor, Abubakar Bawa.
Governor Aliyu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to strengthening the state’s healthcare delivery system and lauded the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for its sustained support in the health and education sectors. He expressed appreciation for UNICEF’s role in providing humanitarian and developmental assistance for children.
In her remarks, Minister Yilwatda commended the Sokoto State Government and its development partners for their proactive efforts against malnutrition. She urged both federal and state governments to scale up their commitments and financial interventions to address the nutrition crisis. The minister further advised Sokoto State to harness its agricultural potential, particularly in large-scale grain production, as a local strategy for nutrition solutions.
Echoing these concerns, the European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, applauded the state government’s hospitality and reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to supporting vulnerable and malnourished children in Sokoto and across Nigeria.
UNICEF Country Representative, Cristian Munduate, described the malnutrition situation as alarming, citing findings from a recent SMART survey. She revealed that UNICEF had contributed N1.5 billion in counterpart funding to bolster the state’s interventions and advocated for sustainable, locally driven solutions.
The advocacy team, accompanied by the deputy governor, also visited a healthcare facility in the state capital, where they inspected the management of severe acute malnutrition cases handled by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in collaboration with UNICEF.
