United Nations Children’s Fund Donates Nutrition Supplies to Support Fight Against Child Malnutrition in Bauchi State
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has donated 19,981 cartons of life-saving nutrition commodities to the Bauchi State Government to strengthen efforts aimed at tackling child malnutrition across the state.
The donated supplies include 4,562 cartons of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), which are used to treat children aged 6 to 59 months suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition. In addition, 15,419 cartons of Small Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements (SQ-LNS) were provided to help prevent malnutrition among children between the ages of 6 and 23 months.
The handover ceremony took place on Saturday at the Bauchi State Agricultural Development Programme (BSADP) facility, where the state government reaffirmed its commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of children and families.
Speaking at the event, Governor Bala Mohammed emphasised that strengthening primary healthcare remains a key focus of his administration.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy Muhammad Auwal Jatau, explained that improving reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, along with nutrition and immunisation services, continues to be a major priority for the state government.
According to the governor, the nutrition commodities were procured by the Bauchi State Government in partnership with UNICEF through the Child Nutrition Fund, a financing mechanism designed to support life-saving nutrition interventions for vulnerable children.
Governor Mohammed also disclosed that the state government contributed N300 million to the Child Nutrition Fund in 2025 as a matching grant. He further revealed that plans are underway to release N500 million in 2026 to expand and strengthen nutrition programmes across the state.
He noted that the government remains committed to reducing cases of malnutrition, as well as lowering childhood illness and mortality rates. The governor also reaffirmed Bauchi State’s commitment to the Abuja Declaration on Health Financing, which recommends that governments allocate at least 15 percent of their total budgets to the health sector.
The state government, he added, will continue to fulfil all its counterpart funding commitments under the Primary Health Care Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with development partners.
“Last year alone, the government released over N872 million as counterpart funding into the PHC MoU Basket Fund account jointly operated by the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Board,” he said.
Earlier at the event, the Chief of the UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Dr. Nuzhat Rafique, expressed concern about the high rate of child malnutrition in the state.
She noted that Bauchi remains among the Nigerian states with the most severe malnutrition challenges. According to her, more than 61 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 23 months are undernourished, while about 92,000 children are affected by wasting. She also revealed that approximately 61 percent of children in the state suffer from stunted growth.
Dr. Rafique described the situation as alarming and stressed the need for urgent and sustained interventions to address the crisis.
She explained that while therapeutic nutrition supplies like RUTF and SQ-LNS play a vital role in treating malnutrition, long-term solutions must also focus on prevention through improved household nutrition and better feeding practices.
Dr. Rafique further noted that Bauchi State’s N300 million contribution to the Child Nutrition Fund had been matched with an additional N300 million from the fund, effectively doubling the resources available for the procurement of nutrition commodities.
She commended the Bauchi State Government for its commitment and also acknowledged the support of development partners such as the United Kingdom, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) in advancing nutrition programmes.
The UNICEF official also raised concerns about the health and nutrition conditions of internally displaced persons from Alkaleri Local Government Area who are currently sheltering in Kashere in neighbouring Gombe State.
According to her, a recent nutrition assessment conducted at the displacement camp revealed troubling statistics. She said more than 80 percent of children in the camp are malnourished, while nearly 80 percent are classified as zero-dose children, meaning they have not received routine immunisation.
She explained that the situation largely resulted from ongoing security challenges that have disrupted access to healthcare services in their communities.
Dr. Rafique appealed to the Bauchi State Government to allocate part of the newly supplied nutrition commodities to assist the displaced children, noting that the camp urgently requires 200 cartons of RUTF and 100 cartons of SQ-LNS.
She also praised the state government’s pledge to allocate N500 million for nutrition interventions in 2026, noting that the commitment could attract additional matching funds through the Child Nutrition Fund.
“With this partnership and commitment, we are confident that we can make significant progress in addressing child malnutrition in Bauchi State,” she said.
Also speaking at the event, the Bauchi State Commissioner for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Sani Muhammad Dambam, said the government is working closely with development partners, especially UNICEF, to improve the nutritional wellbeing of women and children across the state.
He explained that the partnership has focused on increasing funding for nutrition programmes, improving the supply of nutrition commodities, and strengthening primary healthcare services at community and facility levels.
Dr. Dambam added that a total of 601 healthcare workers have been trained to provide nutrition services in selected health facilities across Bauchi State.
He also revealed that 20 Local Government Food and Nutrition Committees have been established to support the implementation of nutrition initiatives at the grassroots level.
According to him, each committee is headed by the deputy chairman of the respective local government area. These committees will collaborate with the State Committee on Food and Nutrition, chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Budget and Multilateral Coordination.
The committees will also report to the State Council on Nutrition, which is chaired by the Deputy Governor.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in Bauchi State and Chairman of Bauchi Local Government Area, Mahmud Babamaji, disclosed that the 20 local government councils collectively contributed N100 million to the nutrition fund.
He added that the Bauchi State Government provided an additional N200 million, bringing the total contribution to N300 million dedicated to food and nutrition interventions aimed at improving the health of children and families across the state.
