July 20, (THEWILL) — The Sokoto State Government has allocated N500 million to combat the rising cases of severe acute malnutrition among children across the state.
Governor Ahmad Aliyu made the announcement during a high-level advocacy visit led by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Prof. Nantewa Yilwatda.
The visit was confirmed in a statement signed by the governor’s Director General of Media and Publicity, Malam Abubakar Bawa.
Aliyu reiterated his administration’s commitment to strengthening the healthcare system, particularly in tackling child malnutrition.
He also expressed gratitude to UNICEF for its continued support in providing humanitarian and developmental aid, as well as to its partners for their efforts in both the health and education sectors.
In her remarks, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs praised the state government and development partners for addressing the surge in Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM).
She urged federal and state authorities to increase their investment in nutrition programmes and explore homegrown solutions, particularly leveraging Sokoto’s potential for large-scale grain production.
Prof. Yilwatda emphasised the need for urgent, coordinated, and sustained intervention from all levels of government and development partners to address the worsening nutrition crisis.
Also speaking, the European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr. Gautier Mignot, commended the Sokoto State Government for its hospitality and reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to supporting malnourished and vulnerable children in Sokoto and beyond.
UNICEF Country Representative, Ms Cristian Munduate, described the nutrition crisis as alarming, citing data from a recent SMART survey.
She revealed that UNICEF had contributed N1.5 billion in counterpart funding to support the state’s intervention efforts and encouraged sustainable, locally driven solutions.
The advocacy team later visited a health facility in the state capital alongside the Deputy Governor, where they observed ongoing treatment of SAM cases by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and UNICEF.
Tunde Omolehin is an award-winning Journalist with prose in investigative and storytelling that is connecting the dots between the under-reported communities and policymakers to ensure good governance and accountability.
