Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) has called for improved funding of nutrition activities and promotion of the importance of exclusive breastfeeding of newborns in Enugu state.
CS-SUNN; non-governmental, non-profit making coalition, made up of organizations with a shared vision to transform Nigeria into a country where every citizen has food and nutrition is secured made the call on Thursday during a media parley with some Journalists in Enugu.
The Organisation while calling for increased action, lamented that the National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) conducted in 2018 reveals that “14.8% of children under-five are stunted, 6.1% are underweight, and 2.5% are wasted. This statistics translates to over 159,000 stunted children and over 24,000 wasted children in Enugu state.
A press statement issued at the end of the media engagement noted that “in Enugu state, there has been recurrent low funding of nutrition activities, and this has negatively impacted the efforts for implementing food and nutrition interventions in the state.”
The statement which was signed by the state coordinator of CS-SUNN, Finian Ali said that to address some of these challenges, they’re implementing the ‘Increased Investment in Nutrition to Scale-Up Quality Nutrition Services’ in Enugu state, which is a fruitful collaboration between UNICEF and CS-SUNN, aimed at realizing a vision of a Nigeria where every citizen has access to food and nutrition security.
Ali added that the “primary objective of this landmark project is to advocate for the extension of paid maternity leave from the current four months to six months. Recognizing the pivotal role of the first 1000 days of a child’s life, this initiative aims to promote six months of exclusive breastfeeding. The extended maternity leave will empower mothers, positively impact infant health, and foster healthier family dynamics.
“The second crucial objective is to ensure the timely release and effective utilization of allocated funds for nutrition programming in Enugu. This initiative is vital to support development partners’ efforts, enhancing overall nutrition outcomes and contributing to the state’s economic growth.
He also stated that the “Enugu State Multisectoral Plan of Action on Food and Nutrition (ENSMPFAN) was developed in 2020 to guide as well as inform strategic implementation of Nutrition Interventions in the state, providing a comprehensive and multi-sectoral approach to tackling the problem of malnutrition among women and children,” adding that ENSMPFAN is a key document to the scale up of Nutrition in Enugu, if implemented.
Ali also pointed out that though CS-SUNN is working in collaboration with other local and international NGOs there’s need for every stakeholder like the government, Media, Private sector and other NGOs to contribute to this fight against malnutrition.
On the part of the Enugu state Government, CS-SUNN called for increased budgeting for nutrition programmes as well as Maternity and Exclusive Breast Feeding (EBF) protection through the Extension of Maternity Leave to six months from the current four months in Enugu State.
CS-SUNN said the media can join the fight by increased media coverage and visibility for nutrition related issues in Nigeria, while the private sector can join the fight for good nutrition by supporting policy implementation through the development of low cost, nutritious complementary foods and home fortification of staple foods and creation of office creches.
For the CSOs/NGOs, CS-SUNN said they need to join the advocacy for the implementation of maternal and child nutrition interventions, promote sustained community health education on nutrition, advocate for the implementation of six months maternity protection with pay and advocate for Nutrition budget releases.
Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) is a non-governmental, non-profit making coalition, made up of organizations with a shared vision to transform Nigeria into a country where every citizen has food and nutrition is secured. CS-SUNN pursues this lofty goal by engaging and mobilizing Government, and Non-State Actors to advocate for relevant Policy implementation, raise awareness, generate evidence, build capacity and stimulate communities to scale-up nutrition in Nigeria, with especial focus on maternal and child nutrition.
