Wife of Anambra State Governor, Dr Nonye Soludo on Tuesday launched the Nonye’s Healthy Living Pap, to address the burden of child malnutrition in the state.
Soludo during the launching said the idea was conceptualised when she received a delegation from UNICEF who talked about tackling malnutrition among children in Anambra.
She said statistics had shown that many children in the state were stunted, wasted, unhappy and underweight due to malnutrition.
According to her, her pet project, Healthy Living Initiative took up the challenge to find a lasting solution to help children dealing with acute or minor malnutrition in the state.
“According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (2021), 23.8 per cent of the infants in Anambra are exclusively breastfed, which is low.
“The state has 45.6 per cent of children meeting the minimum diet diversity standard, which is lower than the South East zonal average of 56.9 per cent.
“We took up the challenge and today, we are launching Nonye’s Healthy Living Pap, a natural formula, into the state’s mitigation programme for malnutrition to rescue our children with special nutritional needs.
“This complementary meal is free of charge due to heavy impact of food insecurity and socio-economic challenges on rural homes, ” she said.
Soludo urged parents to prioritise the diet of their children to eradicate malnutrition and move the state from second spot as the state with the lowest number of Under-5 mortality to the first position.
In her presentation, Dr Chioma Mbachu, a Consultant Paediatrician at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, said nutrition had huge impact on the growth, development and health of a child.
Mbachu urged parents to avoid feeding their children with junk, sugary and processed foods to help the child grow and develop optimally.
“A child’s diet should consist of vegetables, fruit, grains, dairy, and protein. Each food group has different nutrients that the child’s body needs to grow and work properly.
“This intervention by the Governor’s Wife will offers every child in Anambra the opportunity to grow healthy and beat the threats of malnutrition,” she said.
In his remarks, Dr Afam Obidike, state’s Commissioner for Health, said the Noney’s Healthy Living Pap was a rich solution to nutritional deficiencies in children.
He said the pap could also support breast milk for children above the age of six months.
“We have created a seamless distribution pattern for this meal across the 21 local government areas and each LGA will have a known referral centre where this meal can be accessed.
“Each referral centre will develop a database with information about collection, monitoring, and progress. Every child on the meal will be consistently monitored to ascertain their recovery progress.
