The Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency said the earlier omitted portions of health budget in the 2020 appropriation have been reintroduced, the executive chairman of the Agency Dr Rilwanu Mohammad has said at a press briefing.
WikkiTimes recalls that a Coalition of civil society Organizations and the media under the aegis of Bauchi SAM Network has criticized the state government over its deliberate removal of the earlier proposed N1.2 billion to tackle the scourge of malnutrition that has claimed the lives of many children in the state.
Worried about the sustained media reportage on the omission, the state’s health agency says the problem has been finally arrested.
Dr. Rilwanu said “the budget for Child birth spacing is N70million, Maternal Newborn and Child Health Weeks which is conducted biannually is put at N60million while Ready to use Therapeutic Food was got N300 Million allocation.”
Dr. Rilwanu who says there was a meeting between the agency and the state budget and planning commission where the issue of the omission of segments of the agency’s budget were rectified.
The Executive Chairman added that, “health education campaign will be intensified, promotion of exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of a child’s life, De worming and key household practices will also be given priority. “Women will also be thought how to prepare ORS locally to treat diarrhea which is the major factor in malnutrition”.
“I am very happy now that everything is ok the agency can write memo and request its money to carry out its functions”, Dr. Mohammed had said.
He said the state government had released the sum of N20 million to UNICEF for the purchase of RUTF.
WikkiTimes reports that the Bauchi state House of Assembly, had also expressed its worries over the omission, promising to help address the issue.
The assembly had in a communique issued at the end of a one day retreat organized for the legislators by Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre with support from International Society of Media in Public Health, which took place in Gombe vows to device various methods in addressing the scourge of malnutrition.
