1 That Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board (SPHCB) on Wednesday called on state journalists to promote important issues related to maternal, infant and young child nutrition (MIYCN) in the state.
2 The country’s Deputy Nutrition Officer, Mr. Adam’s angoappealed to a media roundtable in Kaduna to promote issues related to MIYCN.
3 The news agency of Nigeria reports that the media roundtable engagement was conducted in collaboration with the Alive and Thrive project.
4 He said that according to the Global Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index Report (2015), the poverty rate in Kaduna state is 56.5%, while about 1.6 million children are at risk of malnutrition and over 800,000 children (48%) are underdeveloped.
5 He pointed out that public funding for nutrition is still insufficient and fragmented across sectors, leading to delays in the implementation of nutritional interventions with resulting unacceptable indices.
6 However, Ango said the state has deployed strategies and interventions to curb malnutrition and its consequences in the state.
7 He said the World Bank Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (NOiN) project, provided funding to improve nutrition through MIYCN advisory services.
8th It also provided basic community nutrition package services in the 23 local governments.
9 He added that the state carries out the implementation Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) in 87 health facilities in 17 LGAs across the state with ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF).
10 Ango stressed that if the media were armed with knowledge of key issues in MIYCN, including the Breastmilk Substitutes Marketing Code, they would improve coverage of the issues for the public good.
11 He said the goal is to discuss the role of radio and television producers and newspaper editors in promoting MIYCN.
12 Serah Kwasu, A&T Programs Manager in Kaduna, also said that maternal and newborn health and nutrition are inextricably linked.
13 She said that worldwide 295,000 women died from pregnancy-related causes and 2.5 million newborns died within the first month of life.
14 “Nigeria is responsible for over 34 percent of global maternal deaths.
fifteen The risk of dying during pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum or after an abortion for a Nigerian woman is 1 in 22, compared to 1 in 49,000 in developed countries.
16 He said: “95 per cent of those deaths were preventable, but Nigeria is losing about 2,313 children every day, amounting to 844,321 deaths in children under the age of five annually.
17 She added that the mother’s nutritional status and health, both before and during pregnancy, have a significant impact on her child’s outcome.
18 “A baby’s birth weight, postnatal growth rate and chance of survival are all affected by the mother’s health and nutritional intake.
19 “Good nutritional status before, during and after pregnancy optimizes a mother’s health and reduces the risk of pregnancy complications, birth defects and chronic diseases in her children in later adulthood,” she said.
20 Nutrition is a basic human right and said good maternal nutritional status reduces the risk of anemia and pregnancy complications, among other things.
21 She said lasting gains in global health and development are achievable through improved nutrition during the critical 1,000 days that begin with proper maternal nutrition.
22 Also, Rahila Maishanu, the Breast Milk Substitute Desk Officer National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Kaduna, he said World Health Assembly (WHA)adopted the International Code of Marketing of breast milk substitutes (BMS).
23 She explained that the WHAT adopted the code as a weapon to protect breastfeeding from the negative effects of aggressive advertising and marketing techniques Infant Formula Manufacturer (IFM) had breastfeeding rates and duration.
24 Maishanu continued to say so NAFDAC has been empowered by law to regulate and control the manufacture, import, export, distribution, advertising, sale and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices and others.
25 “The law made NAFDAC the home of the code and the agency tasked with implementing, monitoring and enforcing the provisions of the International Code relating to the Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes,” she said.
26 She noted that the media needed to be familiar with the laws and regulations governing the marketing of breast milk substitutes in Nigeria by training staff to identify and report violations of the Code or related national regulations.
27 “The media must oppose any advertising of breast milk substitutes, NAFDAC does not issue advertising permits for breast milk substitutes,” Maishanu said.
28 She called on media houses to support programs that promote optimal feeding practices for infants and young children.
29 She also called for the establishment of crèches in media houses for breastfeeding mothers.
30 “The role of the media in promoting and protecting breastfeeding cannot be overstated.
31 “Every notable consequence begins and ends with information and education, and the media is considered the best medium to educate and inform the public,” she said.
NAN reports that various media houses in Kaduna that participated in the media roundtable made pledges on different ways and strategies to promote MIYCN programs.
Idris Abdulrahman
News Source Credit: NAN
