From Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse
The Federal Ministry of Health, with support from Nutrition International, has initiated efforts to address the shortage of nutrition commodities in Jigawa State.
This was revealed by the Nutrition Commodities and Logistics System Desk Officer, Mr. Samari Godwin Bawa, during a two-day training on nutrition logistics onboarding into the Nigerian Health Management Information Systems (NHLMIS), held at Tahir Guest Palace, Dutse.
Bawa explained that the goal is to integrate nutrition programs into the NHLMIS, a national platform that currently includes other public health programs like Malaria, HIV, TB, and MNCH. This will allow federal, state, and local governments to track nutrition commodities, ensuring transparency and availability similar to other health initiatives.
With 2.5 million children at risk of malnutrition annually, the training aims to build the capacity of logistics managers in Jigawa to effectively use the NHLMIS for accountability in managing nutrition commodities, Bawa added.
Mrs. Ayodele Gbemileke, Senior Program Officer at Nutrition International, commended the federal and state governments for their commitment, noting that this initiative will improve accountability and reduce stock shortages of nutrition supplies.
She also confirmed that 40 logistics managers in Jigawa have been trained on the NHLMIS platform with the support of Nutrition International.
Mrs. Gbemileke urged the participants to apply the skills learned and train other nutrition officers to help save millions of children in Nigeria from malnutrition and stunting.