Ms Philomena Irene, a Nutrition Specialist with UNICEF Nigeria’s Bauchi Field Office, says 106,248 children in Gombe State have received UNICEF’s Small-Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements (SQ-LNS) between 2023 and 2025.
Irene stated this on Wednesday during a virtual meeting with journalists in Gombe.
The meeting followed journalists’ field visits to Kwami and Kaltungo Local Government Areas to interact with beneficiaries of the Progressing Action on Resilient Systems for Nutrition through Innovation and Partnership (PARSNIP) project.
The project, implemented by the Gombe State Government and UNICEF with support from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, aims to prevent malnutrition among children under five.
Irene said no fewer than 20,347 caregivers had been counselled and trained under the PARSNIP project on the effective use of Mid-Upper Arm Circumference tapes and proper Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) practices.
She added that the training was designed to strengthen caregivers’ ability to monitor children’s growth, detect malnutrition early and adopt optimal feeding practices to improve child nutrition and health outcomes.
“The specific objectives of the PARSNIP project are to improve IYCF practices for better prevention, enhance early detection and referral of malnutrition through routine screening, and strengthen treatment services at community and facility levels.
“The project also builds government-led nutrition systems, promotes multisectoral collaboration across health, WASH and agriculture, and supports innovative, resilient approaches that ensure nutrition services continue effectively even during shocks,” she said.
The State Nutrition Officer, Mr Muhammad Bawa, described the project as a huge success considering the number of children whose health had been improved and strengthened with essential nutrients.
Bawa said the partnership between the state government and UNICEF had contributed significantly to addressing malnutrition in many communities while also reducing mortality rates.
He added that although the project was currently implemented in three LGAs, Dukku, Kwami and Kaltungo, plans were underway to scale it up to more LGAs as part of the state’s sustainability strategy.
Bawa also commended the Gombe State Government for recently paying N500 million as counterpart funding to strengthen the fight against malnutrition.
Some beneficiaries of the PARSNIP project in Malam-Sidi community in Kwami LGA told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the intervention had saved their children from malnutrition.
Hussaina Bappayo, a mother of two, described the supplement as “a wonder supplement” that every child should receive to support healthy growth.
She said her child’s health had improved tremendously since she began using the supplement, a sentiment shared by Mrs Asmau Tella, another mother in the community.
Tella said her daughter was frequently ill and suffered recurrent diarrhoea before she introduced SQ-LNS into her meals. “All that stopped when I started giving her the supplement,” she said.
According to the mothers, many women in the community began rushing to the health centre for the supplement after witnessing improvements in their children.
They added that they had saved significant amounts previously spent on medications for recurrent childhood illnesses.
They appealed to the state government, UNICEF and other partners to replenish the supply at their health centre, noting that “demand is now very high and we are currently out of stock.”
NAN reports that SQ-LNS are nutrient-dense food pastes designed to prevent malnutrition in young children (6–23 months) by providing 24 essential micronutrients and macronutrients.
The supplements can be consumed directly from a sachet or mixed with food, supplying vitamins, minerals, energy, protein and essential fatty acids. (NAN)
