Malnutrition: UNICEF gives Gombe 11,580 cartons of therapeutic food

File: Officials with the 11,580 cartons of RUTF

The United Nations Children’s Fund on Monday handed over 11,580 cartons of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food to the Gombe State Government.

The consignment is meant to support the treatment of children suffering from acute malnutrition.

The Chief of UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Dr Nuzhat Rafique, disclosed this during the handing-over ceremony, where she commended the state government for providing N500m as counterpart funding for nutrition interventions in 2025.

Rafique said the state’s contribution was matched with an equal amount through the Child Nutrition Fund, facilitating the procurement of essential nutrition supplies for vulnerable children.

She said the consignment contained millions of sachets of RUTF, a specialised therapeutic food used in treating children with severe acute malnutrition.

She stressed the need for proper distribution and monitoring to ensure that the supplies reached the children for whom they were intended.

“RUTF is specifically meant for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition and should not be used as regular food,” Rafique said.

She urged community-based groups, including Mama2Mama and Fathers for Good Health, to intensify public awareness about the proper use of the therapeutic food.

The UNICEF official also emphasised that children undergoing treatment must complete the prescribed course without interruption, urging parents and caregivers to follow instructions from health workers.

According to her, adherence to treatment protocols is essential to achieving the desired nutritional and health outcomes.

Rafique further commended the state government for establishing a committee to prevent the diversion, abuse and misuse of aid supplies.

She called for effective monitoring and accountability mechanisms to ensure that the therapeutic food was not diverted from its intended beneficiaries.

The Gombe State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Prof Bertha Abdu, appreciated UNICEF for its sustained support for the state, particularly interventions aimed at improving the welfare of women and children.

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Abdu said adequate nutrition was fundamental to children’s growth and development, warning that nutritional deficiencies during childhood could result in serious health and developmental challenges.

She stressed the importance of sustained investment in nutrition programmes to safeguard the wellbeing of children.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Science, Technology and Innovation, Habu Dahiru, said raising children who were physically healthy and mentally sound was critical to the state’s future development.

He described RUTF as an important intervention in the treatment of severe acute malnutrition, adding that the state government was complementing UNICEF’s efforts through the local production of nutrient-rich food.

Dahiru disclosed that the ministry had scaled up production of the locally developed nutritious food and was collaborating with the North-East Development Commission to expand the production facility to serve Gombe and neighbouring states.

He said the ministry was ready to work with UNICEF and other development partners to increase production, particularly to support efforts to address moderate malnutrition.

“We are ready to collaborate with UNICEF and other development partners to expand the production of locally made nutritious food and strengthen efforts to tackle malnutrition,” Dahiru said.

He assured that the state government would closely monitor the distribution of the donated RUTF to ensure that the supplies reached children requiring treatment.

In his remarks, the state Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Micah Sunday, described UNICEF as a key development partner supporting the state government’s efforts to improve children’s wellbeing and development.

Sunday said tackling malnutrition would improve not only children’s physical health but also their brain development, educational outcomes and overall wellbeing.

He added that adequate nutrition was essential to raising healthy and productive citizens capable of contributing meaningfully to society.

The donation is expected to strengthen Gombe State’s response to severe acute malnutrition and improve access to life-saving nutritional treatment for vulnerable children across the state.