From Nasir Shuaibu, BAUCHI
Civil Society organisations working to improve nutrition in Bauchi State have called on Local Government Councils to ensure the timely release of budgeted funds for nutrition programmes, warning that delayed disbursement could undermine efforts to reduce child malnutrition.
The appeal was made by the State Chairperson of the Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), Dabis Mwalike, during a courtesy visit to the Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Bauchi State chapter, and a stakeholders' advocacy meeting held at the Bauchi Local Government Secretariat on Monday.
Mwalike said although nutrition had increasingly been captured in local government budgets, the impact would remain limited if approved funds were not released promptly for implementation.
She urged all the 20 local government councils in the state to establish dedicated budget lines for nutrition and ensure that funds earmarked for nutrition activities were released and utilised as approved.
According to her, sustained funding is essential to maintaining the progress achieved through years of support from development partners, who have provided technical assistance, capacity building and financial backing for nutrition interventions.
She expressed concern over the high rate of malnutrition among women and children, stressing that consistent government investment remains key to improving maternal and child health outcomes.
The CS-SUNN chairperson also advocated regular meetings of nutrition coordination committees at both state and local government levels to strengthen planning, monitoring and accountability.
She disclosed that the organisation would continue to monitor nutrition budget performance across the local governments, including allocations, releases and utilisation of funds, to promote transparency and encourage improved financing of nutrition programmes.
Responding on behalf of the ALGON Chairman, the Director of Primary Health Care Development, Bauchi Local Government, Sulaiman Abdu Kirfi, commended CS-SUNN for the advocacy visit and reaffirmed the commitment of local government councils to supporting nutrition interventions.
Kirfi described the Local Government Committee on Food and Nutrition as a vital platform for coordinating nutrition activities and appealed to development partners to continue supporting its quarterly meetings while local governments gradually assumed full responsibility for financing them.
He also urged heads of departments and nutrition focal persons to work closely with local government chairmen to facilitate the prompt release of budgeted funds for nutrition activities, saying this would enhance the implementation of programmes aimed at improving the nutritional status of women and children across the state.
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