Nutrition Supplements Stolen, Replaced With Stones In Sokoto, UNICEF Reveals

The United Nations Children Fund’s (UNICEF) has lamented that nutrition supplements meant for malnourished children in some communities in Sokoto State are being stolen and sold in the market.

UNICEF’s Chief of Field Office in charge of Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara states, Mr Micheal Juma, expressed concerns over the theft of the items during the quarterly policymakers’ meeting on Wednesday in Sokoto.

Juma, who was represented by Mr Abraham Mahama, noted that the nutrition supplements were provided by donors and distributed to healthcare centers in different communities aimed at enhancing the lives of malnourished children.

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He lamented that some bad elements in the system connived with traders and engaged in selling the supplements to unintended persons He stressed that the supplements were openly sold in markets while on investigation at the designated stores, UNICEF discovered that personnel stocked cartons of supplements with stones and other objects to cover their nefarious acts.

Juma urged community members and stakeholders in the healthcare sector to intensify vigilance against the diversion of prepared nutrition supplements in the state. Juma also urged the Sokoto government to join other states in appointing the state’s Statistician General that would fast-track data collection, prudence, preservation, and dissemination in line with modern trends. He highlighted that most of the key indicators in the state portrayed very poor indices such as; antenatal care, immunization, mortality rates, healthcare-seeking behaviors, and social behavioral change.

According to him, indices on healthcare Infrastructures, power, and water supply, competent healthcare workers, and clients not trusting service providers along with others were not encouraging in the state.

In his presentation, the UNICEF Social Protection Specialist, Mr Isa Ibrahim, dwelled on the state’s 2024 Budget performances, areas that need alignment such as the nutrition sector which recorded zero allocation along with some areas recording high concentration of capital expenditure which has less impact to the citizens. Ibrahim also anchored Juma’s call on the appointment of a substantive Statistician-General in the state to harness data prudence and accessibility using standard systems, stressing that the absence of a Statictian General is a vacuum and gap which is needed to be abridged. He explained that the objectives of the quarterly meeting comprised; sensitizing stakeholders on activities, advocating increased inclusion of children on policies, prioritizing joint partnerships, advocate optimum data usage and budget performance.

Earlier, the Sokoto State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Idris Gobir, assured the government maximum support to all donor agencies activities describing the presentations as an awakening call to government officials to amend anomalies.

Alhaji Balarabe Kadadi, the state Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, said UNICEF and other donor interventions were critical toward addressing the state’s challenges. Kadadi noted that collaborations remained key to improve service efficiency and ensured value for money on budget formulation and implementation.

The meeting was organized by UNICEF in collaboration with the Sokoto State Government to discuss activities, successes, challenges and offer solutions to lingering challenges.