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The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), on Tuesday handed over critical nutrition commodities to the Enugu State Government to combat malnutrition among children and pregnant women in the state.
The items include Small-Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements (SQ-LNS) and Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), designed to prevent and treat malnutrition.
SQ-LNS are nutrient-rich pastes given daily to children aged six to 23 months to prevent malnutrition, while RUTF is an energy-dense paste used in the treatment of severe acute malnutrition.
The intervention is part of ongoing efforts to improve nutrition outcomes and ensure a healthier future for children and women in Enugu State.
Speaking at the handover ceremony in Enugu, UNICEF Nigeria Chief of Nutrition, Ms Nemat Hajeebhoy, described the event as a landmark step in addressing malnutrition in the state.
She said the intervention was implemented under the Child Nutrition Match Fund (CNF), an innovative co-financing mechanism in which UNICEF matched government contributions.
According to her, the Enugu State Government invested N160 million, which was matched by UNICEF, enabling the procurement of 2,803 cartons of SQ-LNS, 843 cartons of RUTF, and 17,640 bottles of multiple micronutrient supplements for pregnant women.
Hajeebhoy commended the leadership of Mbah for prioritising child nutrition and noted that Enugu was among the first states to invest in preventive nutrition interventions.
She, however, expressed concern over rising malnutrition indicators, noting that Nigeria had the highest number of malnourished children in Africa and the second highest globally.
“In Enugu, stunting among children under five increased from 12 per cent in 2013 to 15 per cent in 2024.
“This underscores the urgency of scaling up high-impact interventions, especially within the first 1,000 days of life,” she said.
Hajeebhoy urged the state government to ensure effective distribution of the commodities, strengthen monitoring systems, and promote community awareness to prevent misuse and ensure proper utilisation.
Receiving the items on behalf of the governor, the Deputy Governor, Mr Ifeanyi Ossai, reaffirmed the state’s commitment to improving child health and nutrition.
Ossai expressed appreciation to UNICEF for its continued support, describing the intervention as impactful but noted that more holistic strategies were needed to address the root causes of malnutrition.
He highlighted the ongoing government efforts, including a large-scale school feeding programme, aimed at improving nutrition and easing the economic burden on families.
“We must go beyond immediate interventions and address structural issues contributing to malnutrition,” he said.
The governor said that the state remained committed to sustained investment in health and education.
In her remarks, the Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs and Social Development, Ngozi Enih, said the milestone reflected the government’s strong political will to improve child welfare.
She said that malnutrition affected not only children’s survival but also their cognitive development and future productivity, adding that the supplements would significantly strengthen the state’s response.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Ifeyinwa Ani-Osheku, described the event as a major step toward improving child health outcomes.
Ani-Osheku said the initiative would help address stunting and support children’s physical and intellectual development, while also contributing to the state’s broader economic growth agenda.
She added that the programme would be sustained through collaboration with relevant ministries and local government authorities to ensure last-mile delivery and long-term impact.
