Delta govt plans to fight infant malnutrition scourge

*Group flays abandoned pregnant deranged teenager
The Delta state government at the weekend affirmed its commitment towards addressing the scourge of malnutrition among infants and children in the state.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Nicholas Azinge, who made this known while exchanging views with journalists in Asaba, noted that most parents lack adequate knowledge of what it is required to bring up children, and in most times were as a result of mind set and background.

While blaming ignorance on the part of mothers and care givers as major causes of malnutrition in the state, Dr. Azinge disclosed that the issue of malnutrition has been age long following lack of political will on the part of government, adding that most states currently doing well in agriculture were still plagued with malnutrition.

He stressed the need for Ministries of Health and other relevant sectors to prioritize their budgeting with respect to solving malnutrition and urged all health stakeholders to design appropriate work plan towards the implementation of Nutrition Programs to help strengthen measures that would reduce the scourge.

He further noted that inadequate advocacy among others were responsible factors fueling malnutrition adding that with proper advocacy program and well coordinated using the health facilities both at the Secondary and Primary School levels with a view to addressing the problems.

He avowed that consistency in the planning and implementation of policy account had also been responsible for the high rate of malnutrition while some African Countries had been excelling in scaling up nutrition and other health care programs.

Adding that the status of the state as the worst among the South South state was a call to action and held that the fight against malnutrition could be won when stakeholders formulate policies and political will aimed at ending the scourge.

In another development, three women at the Christian Training Centre daily market in Boji Boji Agbor have passionately appealed to the state government, particularly the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Rev. Omasiola Williams, over the plight of a mentally deranged Yoruba lady allegedly put into family way by unknown persons as she continued to stay in the market square at the mercy of market women.