From Our Correspondent
Wife of Anambra Governor, Dr Nonye Soludo has launched Nonye’s Healthy Living Pap (NHLP), to address the burden of child malnutrition in the state.
Soludo said during the launching that she conceptualised the idea when she received a delegation from UNICEF that spoke about tackling malnutrition among children.
TheNewsZenith quotes Soludo as saying that statistics had shown that many children in the state were stunted, wasted, unhappy and underweight due to malnutrition.
According to her, the pet project, “Healthy Living Initiative” took up the challenge to find a lasting solution towards helping children deal with acute or minor malnutrition in the state.
“According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (2021), 23.8 per cent of the infants in Anambra are exclusively breastfed. This is low.
“The state has 45.6 per cent of children meeting the minimum diet diversity standard, lower than the South East zonal average of 56.9 per cent.
“We took up the challenge and today, we are launching Nonye’s Healthy Living Pap,” she said.
NHLP, according to her, is a natural formula, incorporated into the state’s mitigation programme for malnutrition to rescue our children with special nutritional needs.
“This complementary meal is free of charge. This is to reduce the heavy impact of food insecurity and socio-economic challenges on rural homes,” she added.
Mrs Soludo urged parents to prioritise the dietary intake of their children to eradicate malnutrition.
That will also move the state from the second spot as the state with the lowest number of Under-five mortality to the first position.
A Consultant Paediatrician at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Dr Chioma Mbachu, made a presentation at the event.
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Mbachu remarked that nutrition has a huge impact on the growth, development and health of a child.
She urged parents to avoid feeding their children with junk, sugary and processed foods.
Avoiding such junk will help the child to grow and develop optimally.
“A child’s diet should consist of vegetables, fruit, grains, dairy and protein. Each food group has different nutrients that the child’s body needs to grow and work properly.
“This intervention by the governor’s wife will offer every child in Anambra the opportunity to grow healthy. It will also help them beat the threats of malnutrition,” Mbachu said.
Also speaking, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, said the NHLP was a rich solution to nutritional deficiencies in children.
Obidike said the pap could also support breast milk for children above six months of age.
“We have created a seamless distribution pattern for this meal across the 21 local government areas.
“Also, each LGA will have a known referral centre where this meal can be accessed.
“Each referral centre will develop a database with information about collection, monitoring and progress.
“We will constantly monitor every child on the meal to ascertain their recovery progress,” the Commissioner said.
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