The Kaduna State Government has reaffirmed its commitment to reducing malnutrition by strengthening coordination and improving the implementation of nutrition programmes across the state’s 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs).
The commitment was made on Thursday in Zaria during a two-day quarterly coordination and review meeting of the State Committee on Food and Nutrition (SCFN) with nutrition focal persons from all 23 LGAs.
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The meeting, organised by the Kaduna State Planning and Budget Commission (PBC) with support from UNICEF, reviewed nutrition activities carried out in the first and second quarters of the year and identified challenges affecting implementation.
Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the State Committee on Food and Nutrition and Permanent Secretary of the Planning and Budget Commission, Mukhtar Abdullahi, said the gathering reflected the state’s resolve to improve nutrition outcomes.
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He commended UNICEF and other development partners for supporting nutrition coordination and service delivery in Kaduna, while also praising nutrition focal persons for sustaining collaboration across sectors to improve maternal, infant and young child nutrition.
According to him, the state is strengthening nutrition programmes at the local government level through increased budgetary support and closer collaboration among key sectors.
He noted that the review meeting would assess progress made so far, identify implementation gaps, document lessons learned and develop practical strategies to improve nutrition services across the state.
Earlier, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for Nutrition at the Kaduna State Primary Healthcare Board, Jibril Isah, said the state had maintained strong political commitment to addressing malnutrition through the coordinated implementation of its Multi-Sectoral Food and Nutrition Plan.
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He explained that the review would evaluate nutrition interventions implemented during the quarter, identify operational challenges and agree on practical measures to improve performance across all LGAs.
Isah described undernutrition as a major contributor to child mortality, noting that it is associated with more than 55 per cent of diarrhoea-related deaths, 57 per cent of malaria deaths and 45 per cent of pneumonia deaths among children.
He said Vitamin A supplementation alone could reduce deaths among children under five by up to 34 per cent while protecting them against diseases such as measles, malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia.
He added that routine deworming, nutrition screening and the promotion of exclusive and complementary breastfeeding remain critical interventions for improving child survival.
According to him, Kaduna recorded an 82 per cent Vitamin A supplementation coverage among children aged six to 59 months during the June 2026 Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week.
He said coverage reached 81 per cent among children aged six to 11 months and 83 per cent among those aged 12 to 59 months.
He further disclosed that Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) screening achieved 79 per cent coverage across the state, while deworming coverage stood at 36 per cent.
Isah added that PENTA3 immunisation coverage was 51 per cent, while uptake of Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine among pregnant women reached 39 per cent statewide.
He said the performance review would help identify poorly performing areas and support targeted interventions to improve nutrition and maternal health services.
Also speaking, the Acting Director of the Development Aid Coordination Department at the Planning and Budget Commission, Priscilla Dariya, urged participants to produce practical recommendations that would strengthen nutrition coordination across Kaduna State.
The Director of Nutrition at the Kaduna State Primary Healthcare Board, Ramatu Haruna, represented by Christopher Moses, Deputy Programme Officer in the Micronutrient Deficiency Control Unit, emphasised the importance of quality data, effective implementation and sustained commitment by nutrition focal persons.
In a goodwill message, the Kaduna State Coordinator of the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN 2.0) Project, Zainab Muhammad-Idris, represented by Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist Musa Abubakar, encouraged participants to openly discuss implementation challenges and develop practical solutions.
She expressed optimism that the meeting would produce a reliable roadmap to guide government, development partners and civil society organisations in implementing effective nutrition interventions.
Similarly, the Kaduna State Coordinator of Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), Celestina Ayim, represented by Funmilayo Adeoye, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting government efforts to improve nutrition outcomes across the state.
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