Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, has charged the Civil Society–Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) to develop an effective work plan for proper nutrition awareness across communities in the state.
Ewhrudjakpo gave the directive on Thursday when the Bayelsa chapter of CS-SUNN paid him a courtesy visit at Government House, Yenagoa.
He expressed concern over the state’s poor nutrition indices, which he said were largely drawn from rural communities, and urged the NGO to establish branches in all eight local government areas of Bayelsa.
A statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Doubara Atasi, quoted the Deputy Governor as emphasizing the need for behavioural change communication in local dialects through community radio stations to correct misconceptions about nutrition.
According to him, many rural dwellers have abandoned natural, nutrient-rich foods like snails and periwinkle in favour of fast food, beef and iced fish, wrongly believing the latter to be symbols of civilization.
“Because of such erroneous thinking, most of our people have launched themselves into fast food and confectionery, and the trend has gone down to the rural areas,” Ewhrudjakpo said.
“We need adequate behavioural change communication to break the vicious cycle of poor nutrition. We must reel out that message in Kolokuma, Epie-Atissa, Ogbia, and other dialects to reach our communities. You have to develop a work plan for us to get to our rural communities. It is also necessary to set up local government branches of CS-SUNN.”
On the issue of funds allocated for nutrition in the state’s annual budget, the Deputy Governor assured that government would take steps to ensure full utilization.
Earlier, the State Coordinator of CS-SUNN, Mrs. Unity Ototo; the Project Lead, Mr. Ambrose Evhoesor; and the Senior Project Officer, Mr. Kunle Ishola, jointly noted the disturbing statistics of malnutrition in the state, particularly among children.
They explained that CS-SUNN currently operates in 30 states and the Federal Capital Territory, and urged the Bayelsa government to not only utilize nutrition budgetary allocations but also approve six months maternity leave for nursing mothers to encourage exclusive breastfeeding.
