The Enugu State government says it invested a total of N439.2 million in nutrition and related health interventions in 2025 to improve child survival and development outcomes.

Ifeyinwa Ani-Osheku, Executive Secretary, Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency, disclosed this at a meeting in Awka on Wednesday.

The two-day Joint Inception and Planning Meeting in Awka was organised for stakeholders from Enugu and Benue states on the need to prevent malnutrition in the first 1,000 days of life.

The meeting was held through collaboration between the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Enugu and Benue State Governments, and was funded by the United States Government.

Ms Ani-Osheku said N160 million was allocated to the Child Nutrition Fund for the procurement of essential commodities.

She said the commodities included small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements, ready-to-use therapeutic food, and multiple micronutrient supplements.

“A total of N178 million from the state budget was used to procure two million doses of Albendazole for deworming, while N61.33 million funded two rounds of the 2025 Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week.

“The sum of N8 million was set aside for World Food Day activities, N4.6 million for the inauguration of Local Government Committees on Food and Nutrition, and N8.9 million for Nutrition Week.

“The quarterly meetings of the State Committee on Food and Nutrition were allocated N1.2 million, while N16 million was committed to initiatives promoting dietary diversity within the first 1,000 days of life,” she said.

The executive secretary said the investments were part of efforts to strengthen nutrition interventions, reduce malnutrition, and improve public health outcomes among vulnerable populations.

She commended UNICEF for supporting the state with nutrition commodities worth hundreds of millions of naira.

Ms Ani-Osheku said the commodities included multiple micronutrient supplements, vitamin A supplements, therapeutic foods, and lipid-based nutrient supplements.

She added that UNICEF also provided N75.38 million to support two rounds of the 2025 Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week.

The State Nutrition Officer, Loveth Onwuzulike, said Enugu’s child nutrition indicators showed mixed progress over the years, with improvements in exclusive breastfeeding and dietary diversity, but persistent stunting.

She said stunting stood at 15.2 per cent in 2024, while wasting was 3.9 per cent, noting that exclusive breastfeeding slightly declined to 54.1 per cent in 2024.

Ms Onwuzulike said only 38 per cent of pregnant women attended at least four antenatal visits, while 52 per cent suffered anaemia, indicating gaps in maternal nutrition.

She added that just 41 per cent of women received iron or micronutrient supplements, while only 16 per cent of children aged 6 to 23 months met the minimum acceptable diet.

The nutrition officer identified key challenges affecting programme delivery, including inadequate funding, shortage of nutritionists, weak data management, poor healthcare worker attitudes, and insufficient functional treatment centres.

She also decried the absence of policies such as six months’ paid maternity leave and government-owned crèches, which she said were critical to improving breastfeeding and child care.

Ms Onwuzulike called on the state government to increase domestic financing, recruit more nutrition officers, and approve family-friendly workplace policies to strengthen nutrition outcomes.

She recommended the reactivation of Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition centres and increased awareness campaigns in the state.

Earlier, the Chief of UNICEF Field Office, Enugu, Juliet Chiluwe, commended the Benue and Enugu State Governments for their strong commitment to improving the nutrition of women and children.

Ms Chiluwe noted that the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, from conception to age two, are critical for lifelong health and development, making investments in this period highly impactful.

“This meeting is an opportunity to align priorities, clarify roles, and drive evidence-based, results-oriented implementation.

“Sustainable nutrition outcomes require coordinated, multi-sectoral efforts across health, agriculture, education, water, sanitation, and social protection.

“UNICEF is committed to supporting both states in achieving lasting results,” she said.

“Stunting” is a chronic malnutrition-induced height deficiency, defined as a height-for-age below two standard deviations from the WHO Child Growth Standards median, while “wasting” is an acute nutrition problem which makes a child too thin for their height. 

(NAN)