SCFN COMMENDS KWSG FOR PRIORITIZING CITIZENS' WELL-BEING

 

The members of the State Committee on Food and Nutrition during the briefing of reports and achievements for the year by all MDAs' Desk Officers at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Finance, Ilorin.


The Kwara State Government has been commended for its continuous support towards boosting nutrition awareness in the State, thus, ensuring good health and the well-being of its citizens.


The Ag. Chairman, State Committee on Food and Nutrition (SCFN), who doubles as the State Director, Planning, Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Alhaji Surajudeen Kayode Alimi, gave the commendation at the 4th quarter meeting of the Committee, held on Monday, at the conference room of Ministry of Finance, Ilorin.


The Chairman, speaking through the Director, Debt Management, Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Mr. Olatunde Ibiyinka, revealed that the reviewed State Multi-Sectoral Plan of Action on Food and Nutrition (MSPAN) has been validated by the Governor, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, a gesture he considered as the State Government’s commitment to ensuring that malnutrition is curbed in the State.


Highlighting some of the Committee's achievements for the year 2024, Alhaji Alimi said that the State Government had approved Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000) Counterpart Fund to back up the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Child Nutrition Fund which was signed by the Committee and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), earlier this year.

 

"As we all know it's the last meeting of the year, during the year, we have recorded some achievements which include: signing of Memorandum of Understanding with the UNICEF for child nutrition fund; the Government backed it up by paying the Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000) Counterpart Fund”, he noted.


The Ag. Chairman commended all the Nutrition Desk Officers in all the State Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for the success recorded over the year and for ensuring that residents, especially women folks and children, are well educated on nutrition issues through regular sensitization and media engagement, maintenance of dietary diversities in their daily meal to promote healthy living, while acknowledging the donor partners like UNICEF, Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN) and the Civil Society Scalling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) for their immense partnership support, which also contributed to the success recorded.


He envisaged hope for better improvement in the coming year, adding that the State Government had also released appreciable funds to some of its Line Ministries for the execution of nutrition activities, as spelt out in the MSPAN of the Committee.


"There was also an appreciable release of funds by the State Government to some MDAs like Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Local Government, Community Development & Chieftancy Affairs and Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) to carry out activities in the State”, Alhaji Alimi disclosed.


The 4th quarter meeting featured reports presentations on the first day, while entrepreneurship training on how to make Tofu (Beske), a delicacy considered to be of high nutritional value, took place on the second day of the meeting.

 

During the training of members of the Committee at the Kwara State Agricultural Development Agency on Tuesday, the Facilitator and the Nutrition Desk Officer, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs. Jamila Adamu Gene, who first took the participants on the soya beans pre-preparation - peeling, washing, grinding, boiling and baking stage, recommended soya beans (Tofu) as an ideal means of food supplement, highly rich in protein compared to other red meats varieties that most women often preferred.

The Nutrition Desk Officer, Ministry of Communications (centre), Dr. Fatima Amuda, flanked by other Committee members during the practical training session yesterday at the Home Economics Division’s kitchen of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.


Mrs. Gene enjoined the participants to take home the divulged knowledge at the training to benefit others, stating that soya beans processing does not only give nutritional value but also can proffer multiple sources of income, as it could be transformed to soya milk, tofu and other final produce consumable by both human and livestocks.


The Nutrition Desk Officer admonished the commercial Tofu bakers and the public to shun the use of plastic while pulling the fermented Tofu particle from the boiling point, saying that such may render the delicacy to be acidic and hazardous to human health.


The event gave room for interpersonal interactions among members, harvesting of ideas and contributions from trusted diverse knowledge and professions, which made it more lively, impactful and memorable.


*Alabere Ahmed Babatunde,*

 Press Secretary,

 MoPED.

 08184396243

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