WELCOME
ADDRESS BY THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, CS-SUNN BEATRICE ELUAKA DURING A MEDIA
ENGAGEMENT ON PINNS ISSUES, RESEARCH FINDINGS, PROGRESS AND CALL TO ACTION TO
INCREASE SALIENCE OF NUTRITION POLICY AND FUNDING ON THE AGENDA OF THE LAGOS
STATE GOVERNMENT ON 29TH OF AUGUST, 2018 IN LAGOS STATE.
Distinguished Members of
the Press,
It is indeed my pleasure to
welcome you to this media engagement on the Partnership for Improving Nigeria
Nutrition Systems issues, research findings, progress and call to action to
improve salience of nutrition policy and funding on the agenda of the Lagos
state government, holding today at Grandbee Hotel, Lagos State. I wish to
convey CS-SUNN’s appreciation to you, members of the press for responding
positively to our invitation.
Malnutrition remains a key
contributor to infant and maternal mortality and morbidity, poor cognitive
development, increased severity of diseases which adversely affects
productivity in Nigeria. According to the National Demographic Health
Survey (NDHS) 2013, more than 5 million new-borns in Nigeria lack essential
nutrients and antibodies that would protect them from diseases and death as
they are not being exclusively breastfed.
The National
Nutrition and Health Survey (NNHS) 2014, puts Exclusive Breastfeeding
rate in Nigeria at 25%. Also, the 2017 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS)
puts stunting rate at 43.6% as against 32.9% in 2015, wasting in 2017 at 10.8%
as against 7.2% in 2015 and Underweight at 31.5% in 2017 as against 19.4% in
2015.
For Lagos State, The MICS
2017 puts Stunting rate at 11.4%, Wasting at 11.4% and Underweight at 14.5%.
These negative results
indicate an alarming rising trend in Nigeria’s malnutrition burden which will
continue to further impede the nation’s economic development if not checked as
globally, stunting is currently an indicator for measuring a country’s
development.
Despite these negative
indices, we however must not fail to commend the Lagos State Government for
extending maternity leave for female civil
servants to 6 months and introducing a 10-day paternity leave for fathers. This
policy is a step in the right direction towards promoting Exclusive Breastfeeding which ensures optimal
physical growth and brain development of children, engenders them to thrive
well and live up to their full potentials at adulthood. It
also prevents malnutrition.
We are therefore calling on
other state governments in Nigeria to emulate the Lagos State Government as
this will contribute to encouraging the practice of Exclusive Breastfeeding
especially among working mothers thereby boosting Nigeria’s EBF rate and
contributing to a reduction in malnutrition in the country.
Recently, at the just
concluded Ministerial Press Briefing in Abuja to commemorate the 2018 World
Breastfeeding Week, the Honorable Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole
revealed that the Ministry of Health was working closely with the Ministry of
Labor to extend Maternity leave in Nigeria from 4 to 6 months. We are urging
the Ministers and other key stakeholders involved in the process of
implementing this policy to fast-track the process of this extension as it will
go a long way to encourage and boost Nigeria’s EBF rates which will contribute
to a reduction in malnutrition.
The Partnership for
Improving Nigeria Nutrition Systems (PINNS), a product of consultations between
a Donor/CS-SUNN is targeted at strengthening the Nigeria nutrition systems to
be more Result-driven, Effective, Serviceable, Efficient and Transparent (RESET) in delivering on their mandate.
It is also aimed at holding government accountable on commitments made to
allocate, release and use transparently funds for implementation of high impact
Nutrition interventions in Nigeria through evidence-based advocacy.
This project will also
contribute to a reduction in malnutrition particularly among women and children
in Nigeria as is focused on strengthening governance, policy implementation,
effective coordination, financing, building the capacity of state actors,
generation and effective communication of evidence as promoting accountability.
The Civil Society Scaling
-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) recognizes that the Media are instruments of
mobilization, awareness creation, information exchange and dissemination and
that they have a great role to play in setting nutrition as an agenda for
public discourse. Without the media, it might be difficult for
CS-SUNN and others stakeholders in the nutrition circle to communicate
nutrition information and monitor nutrition interventions to ascertain optimal
delivery of benefits to Nigerians especially, the vulnerable women and children
in Lagos state.
This media engagement on PINNS issues,
research findings, progress and call to action is aimed at:
1.
Informing
Lagos State Correspondents about PINNS project, issues and prayers
2.
Establishing
media role/responsibilities for increased visibility of PINNS/Nutrition issues
in Lagos State
3.
Securing
buy-in of media for smooth implementation of PINNS in Lagos.
4.
Increasing
salience of PINNS and nutrition issues among Media in Lagos State.
This engagement will further jumpstart
CS-SUNN’s media team in Lagos State with a common understanding of the goal and
objectives of the project.
We therefore urge the media to step up reportage of
nutrition issues to inform and spur policy makers and concerned stakeholders to
take the right steps that will curb malnutrition in Nigeria, particularly Lagos
State. We would on our part, continue to equip members of the press with useful
and relevant information that would help and enable them step up thorough and
factual reportage of Nutrition.
On this
note, I welcome you all again to this Media Engagement on PINNS. We look
forward to a most successful engagement with members of the press.
Thank you
all.
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