New Telegraph

UNICEF: 245,300 Katsina children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said 245,300 children under five suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in Katsina State’s 34 local government areas. UNICEF’s chief in the Kano office, Rahama Farah said this during the launching of a Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) report in Katsina yesterday.

According to Farah, malnourished children need urgent attention from the government. He called on the state government and policymakers to allocate and release adequate resources for the treatment of malnutrition to improve the current human development situation in the state.

He said: “Based on the preliminary findings from a recently completed SMART survey across the 34 LGAs of Katsina State an estimated 245,300 children aged under five are suffering from SAM; and need immediate treatment.

“In terms of learning achievement in schools: the MICS 2021 measures the level of foundational numeracy and literacy skills of children between the ages of 7 to 12. “MICS data shows that the learning achievement situation in Katsina state is still far below the national average. For example, in Katsina state only nine per cent of the children assessed, have demonstrated foundational reading skills compared to 26 per cent at the national level.”

Farah reiterated that state governments within the region need to intervene in the areas of tackling poverty and improve the basic social services in health, education, nutrition, social protection, water and sanitation as well as child rights.

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