The Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has approved the release of ₦500m as an intervention fund to strengthen efforts aimed at tackling severe acute malnutrition among children across the state.
Governor Sule made the commitment during a courtesy visit by a delegation from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), led by the Chief of the UNICEF Kaduna Field Office, Dr. Gerida Birukila.
The Governor said “although the state could not immediately provide the entire ₦1 billion requested by UNICEF, it would release half of the amount before the end of July to support ongoing nutrition interventions.”
“I cannot promise you one billion naira immediately, but by the end of next month, we will release 500 million naira to support the programme without delay,” Governor Sule said.
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to child nutrition, noting that the state’s six-month paid maternity leave policy was introduced to encourage exclusive breastfeeding among working mothers.
According to the Governor, his support for the policy was influenced by personal experience.
“I took the six-month maternity leave policy seriously because of what I experienced in my own family. One of my children was exclusively breastfed after being born at 8.9 pounds, and today he works as a supply chain manager with Target in Dallas, Texas. That experience helped me understand why mothers need adequate time to care for their babies,” he said.
Earlier, Dr. Birukila commended Nasarawa State for its commitment to improving child healthcare, describing it as one of Nigeria’s leading states in implementing child-focused health initiatives.
She noted that the state recently emerged winner of the Independent Leadership Challenge, earning a $500,000 grant to improve primary healthcare infrastructure.
However, she expressed concern over the growing burden of child malnutrition, revealing that a five-day health outreach conducted across selected local government areas identified 103 children suffering from severe wasting.
Dr. Birukila disclosed that UNICEF estimates about 25,000 children in Nasarawa require urgent treatment for severe acute malnutrition.
She explained that “treating one affected child with Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) costs an average of $60, equivalent to about ₦60,000 to ₦70,000… Nearly ₦1 billion would be required to adequately address the crisis across the state.”
“Malnutrition is not always caused by poverty. In many cases, it is linked to a lack of awareness. Even families with sufficient income can have malnourished children when breastfeeding is replaced too early with infant formula. Exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months is essential,” she said.
The UNICEF official also applauded Nasarawa State for being among the few states in Nigeria to institutionalise six months of paid maternity leave for nursing mothers.
She further thanked the State government for providing a welcoming environment for Samuel Sise, a Sierra Leonean working with the National Stop Transmission of Polio (N-STOP) programme.
“He has settled in so well that he is now like a son of Nasarawa. We appreciate the warm reception and support the state has extended to him,” Birukila said.
She also appealed to Governor Sule to approve the implementation work plan for the $500,000 Leadership Challenge grant ahead of the project’s evaluation scheduled for November.
