C'River Health Commissioner Harps On Multi-sectoral Partnership To Curb Malnutrition In Children
By Ebi COLLINS
The Cross River State Commissioner for Health, Dr Egbe Ayuk has emphasized on the need for stronger collaboration and mainstreaming among relevant sectors to promote childhood nutrition in the State.
The Commissioner, who made this known, recently, at the flag-off of the optimized Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health week, held at Odukpani Local Government Area of the State, stressed on the need for domestic resource mobilization for nutrition, noting that strategic partnership remains critical to the enthronement of Universal Health Coverage in the State.
Ayuk called on local and international partners to support Governor Bassey Otu’s laudable goal of ensuring that citizens of the State have access to health care and live healthy by 2027.
He said that though Governor has demonstrated this by increasing annual fiscal allocation for healthcare with improved sectoral appropriation for nutrition in children, yet there is need to improve participation from key sectors like agriculture, water and sanitation, environment, education, women affairs and humanitarian services to improve on nutrition outcomes in children.
Speaking earlier, the Head of Odukpani Local Government Administration, Ntufam Ndifon Orimon, thanked the government of the State for flagging off the exercise in Odukpani, and appealed for the strengthening of the primary health system with resources to address malnutrition.
Earlier in her opening remarks, the Director General of the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (CRSPHCDA), Dr Mrs Vivian Otu had itemized the activities to be carried out during the Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH) week to include antenatal care, health promotion on exclusive breast milk for children, counseling and testing for HIV, immunization, among others.
She has lamented the poor outcomes of nutrition in Cross River, insisting on the needed collaboration of both government and partners to enable the State to reverse stunting and the poor trajectory in nutrition.
The flag off was carried out by Dr Inyang Asibong who represented the Wife of the Governor, Rev Mrs Eyoanwan Bassey Otu.
The Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week is a week-long event organized by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), State Primary Health Care Development Agencies, and the State Ministries of Health, in collaboration with partners. The week delivers an integrated package of highly cost-effective and curative services/interventions such as - antenatal care, a package of preventive nutrition services and immunization to strengthen the routine primary health care services.
