From: Sola Ojo, Kaduna

Reports by Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), on Thursday, shows Kaduna State has achieved 63 per cent success in the implementation of the National Strategic Plan of Action for Nutrition (NSPAN) in 2016.

According to the CS-SUNN Score Card obtained in Kaduna, the result is an improvement from the 37.5 per cent implementation recorded by the state in 2015.

The document described Nigeria as a country with the highest rate of stunted under-five children in sub-Sub-Saharan Africa and the second in the world, with the northern part of the country contributing the chunk of the rating.

That report stressed that, introduction of the national nutrition plan by the Federal Government in 2014 was to address the problem, the plan was targeted to reduce stunting by 20 percent and low birth weight by 15 per cent by 2019 nationwide.

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“The question to which this policy is being implemented created the need to review the implementation of the NSPAN in the three Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PACFaH) focal states,” the report noted.

The focal states are Kaduna, Niger and Nasarawa where CS-SUNN is leading the process, the states were scored in seven key areas, namely bahaviour change communication, service delivery, capacity building, advocacy and resource mobilisation, research monitoring and evaluation.

Other areas include, coordination and multi-sectoral partnership, and provision of commodities and equipment.

Under behavior change communication meant to provide appropriate information about food and feeding practice, Kaduna state was scored 17.7 percent in 2015 and 88.8 percent in 2016.

On high impact nutrition interventions, the state scored 50 percent in 2015 and 66 percent in 2016, and 12. 5 percent and 50 percent respectively in improving capacity of service providers at all levels to provide core nutrition services and counselling.