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Joe Effiong, Uyo
The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has called for behavioural change among policy makers and families across South-South and South East zones in order to win the fight against malnutrition.
Rivers Field Officer for UNICEF, Dr. Guy Yogo, made the call in Uyo, Akwa Ibom, yesterday, at a workshop on nutrition.
Yogo lamented that Nigeria was still battling the issue of stunted children, saying, “fighting malnutrition calls for a holistic approach from individuals, families and government.
“There is a lot of misconception about malnutrition and or undernutrition.We have spoken about the rate of stunting, it is a big issue; it is not about the quantity of food, it is about the quality of food and quality of intervention. Look at the open defecation rate in the south, it is very high. So we still need to have good hygiene, promotion of welfare practices in terms of sanitation, in order to cut down malnutrition and undernutrition.
“We have seen a lot of political will on the part of the Akwa Ibom state. But there is however the need to put in place some interventions that are of low cost but with high impact. These interventions would help us to reduce malnutrition rate.”
