The EU-UNICEF has beefed up its fight against malnutrition, saving over 60 children with severe malnutrition in Bauchi, by seeing to their weekly treatment at the Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) site at Aisha Isah Yuguda Under 5 Clinic in Daruzo area of the state.

Lauding the EU-UNICEF for its contributions in improving the health status of women and children across the state, Nutrition Officer of the Center, Mr Mustapha Yakubu, acknowledged that the intervention in Bauchi health care services has reduced maternal and child health complications in the state.

According to him, “The centre, which was established in August 2017, has admitted 974 children so far, and on a weekly basis, we receive an average of 50-60 cases of malnutrition. We have three permanent staff and 35 volunteers, all courtesy of EU – UNICEF partnership’s contributions.”

He noted that the centre was used to having 80 to 90 children with acute malnutrition condition before the recent stock out of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF).

He further stated that the challenge the centre was facing was to ensure that clients used up their eight weeks dose of the treatment. He added that the number of patients reduced because the food was sometimes out of stock.

He said, “In the past, our registered clients were from 70 to 100 on a weekly basis because the clinic is once in a week

“We tried to reach those with contacts and they are back but some have no telephone contact numbers and live in hard to reach areas so they are not coming (back), which is not healthy. The non-availability of the food from April to August affected treatment.”.

Mr Yakubu also lauded the efficiency of RUFT for always being available to supply specialized foods, due to the demand by the centre for uninterrupted treatment of malnutrition in the Centre.

SOURCE: AGRONIGERIA