In a bid to combat the prevalence of malnutrition among children in Kano, the Aliko Dangote Foundation Integrated Nutrition (ADFIN), Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kano State government.
In her remarks at the signing ceremony held at the ECA Unit of Abdullahi Wase Hospital in Kano, Zouera Yousuf, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Aliko Dangote Foundation, said the foundation is worried about the prevalence of malnutrition, especially among children in the state.
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Further reiterating the foundation’s concern about malnutrition, she explained that it had supported a feeding programme sponsored by Hajiya Mariya Dantata, where about 30,000 meals were distributed daily.
According to Yousuf, part of the foundation’s commitment to checking malnutrition is the distribution of 20,000 loaves of bread daily in Kano and 10,000 in Lagos States.
She further explained that the recent partnership with the Kano State government includes over N50 million for the procurement of Ready To Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) aimed at treating children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in the state.
The foundation’s boss also said the RUTF would be produced by a company based in Kano and that it would reach each household with vulnerable children in the state.
Her words: “The primary focus of the Aliko Dangote Foundation is nutrition, which wraps around interventions on health, education and empowerment.
“Based on this, we are now making unprecedented investments to improve nutrition in our country.
“We intend to treat the children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) using RUTF which was produced right here in Kano by a sister company.
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“We will reach each household of these children with food nutrition.
“To do this, we have trained the first cohort of Community Active Mobilizers, CAM who will help identify the vulnerable children and refer them for treatment.
“The ADFIN programme was designed to start in Kano State with plans to extend to 13 Northern states. The programme was to take off in 13 out of the 44 LGAs in Kano State.
“We need to end this scourge of malnutrition and the signing of this MoU takes us close to achieving the goal.
“We, however, solicit other partners with expertise to join hands with us to achieve a robust and sustainable solution.”
In his remarks, the Kano State Commissioner of Health, Dr Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa commended the business mogul, Aliko Dangote and his foundation for investing heavily in improving the health and well-being of the people of the state.
Tsanyawa however assured the foundation of its commitment and readiness to consolidate on the foundation’s interest in tackling malnutrition in the state.
