UNICEF: 1.6m People Suffering from Hunger in Katsina

Francis Sardauna in Katsina

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed that no fewer than 1.6 million people across the 34 local government areas of Katsina State are suffering from hunger.

The UNICEF Chief, Kano Field Office, Mr. Rahama Mohammed Farah, disclosed this Tuesday evening when he led other management staff of UNICEF on an advocacy meeting with Governor Dikko Umar Radda at the Government House.

He explained that out of the 1.6 million people battling with hunger in the state, 63,000 were currently suffering from acute food insecurity from across the state.

Farah said: “1.6 million people in Katsina State are hungry of which 63,000 are suffering from acute food insecurity. This is based on the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) which was done in 2021.”

He, however, said out of the state’s two million under five children, 1.2 million were stunted, 574,200 moderately wasted, 250,151 severely wasted and 1,376,000 currently suffering from anaemia in the state.

Farah expressed UNICEF’s readiness to work with the state government to ensure that 1,637,197 children aged between six to 59 months receive two doses of vitamin A supplements to tackle the malnutrition.

He added that UNICEF would also strengthen coordination and partnership in support of the delivery of different life-saving interventions to 143,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in the state.

According to him, prevention of malnutrition through scaling up maternal, infant and young child nutrition in the state remains one of the ultimate priorities of the international children’s organisation.

Responding, Radda said his government will inaugurate a committee to work with UNICEF to address challenges facing the state in the thematic areas of nutrition education, health, WASH, child protection and social policy.

He said: “You are coming here to support us to make our lives better. So, if you are coming to support us and make our own lives better, why can’t we support you to do that?”