132 children reportedly died of malnutrition in Kaduna, while 12,858 have been hospitalized between January and October 2018 in the state.
In a two-day meeting organised by Save the Children International (SCI) to support Kaduna State Chapter of the Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) to develop two-year Nutrition Advocacy Strategy in Kaduna, the state nutrition officer, Mrs Hausa Usman’s who gave an update on the nutrition situation disclosed that 10,604 out of the 12,858 have been cured.
Usman who attributed the high incidence of malnutrition in the state to poor maternal, infant and young child feeding practices which has remained unsatisfactory, further disclosed that though 132 children died of malnutrition, 187 others who have not recovered were undergoing treatment.
“Currently, 11.7 per cent of children under-five years are wasted – suffering from severe acute malnutrition, while 47 per cent are stunted (too short for their age).
“The Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey, 2017, releveled that the rate of timely breastfeeding initiation is 28.9 per cent, while only 19,7 per cent under-five children were exclusively breastfed.
“Similarly, only 10 children aged six to 23 months were adequately and appropriately fed” she said.
