Bayelsa State has assured that it will fulfill counterpart funding obligations on health and nutrition programmes it’s running in partnership with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
The state Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, gave the assurance at the weekend, when a delegation of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN), led by the state Chairman, Mr. Ebi Wilson, paid him a courtesy call at the Government House, Yenagoa.
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Doubara Atasi, the deputy governor, stressed the need for all local government councils and other stakeholders in the state to promote the issue of good nutrition.
Ewhrudjakpo said many people suffer and die of malnutrition, not due to poverty but as a result lack of knowledge of what to eat to remain healthy.
He therefore, called on members of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria to carry out enlightenment campaigns, to reduce the increasing death rate arising from nutritionally-induced diseases across the state.
The deputy governor, who pledged to sponsor a one- month radio programme on nutrition awareness, directed the NSN to liaise with the state Ministry of Health to ensure the deployment of nutrition officers to all the local government areas of the state.
“While it is good that we have health workers in the local government areas, who may have read about nutrition, I think their level of knowledge of nutrition is not as advanced as you have.
“And so, we will see how we can within available resources, working with the Ministry of Health, deploy nutrition officers in all the local government areas. That will be key to us.
“Nutrition should come before any other health intervention. Immunization is good, but immunization without good nutrition is ineffective.
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“The high rate of communicable and non-communicable diseases and deaths is high because of our low level of nutritional awareness. I will support the NSN to have a one month nutrition hour radio programme to create the awareness.
“We have a Herculean task before us. Government has a role, but professionals have a greater role. I believe that when you play your role as professionals, the knowledge level will expand to create more enlightenment and less people will die of nutritionally-induced non-communicable diseases,” the deputy governor said.
The state Chairman of NSN, Mr. Ebi Wilson, said the visit was informed by the need to foster collaboration between the society and the state government to address nutritional issues affecting communities in the state.
Making reference to the recent multi-sectoral partnership agreement signed between the state government and the UNICEF, Mr. Wilson said the organization was committed to working with government to ensure every Bayelsan has access to good nutrition.
