Stakeholders Push for Multi-Sectoral Response as Kano Faces Severe Child Malnutrition Crisis
By Uangbaoje Alex, Kaduna
Kano State has been identified as one of Nigeria’s highest burden areas for child malnutrition, with stakeholders warning that more than half of children under five are stunted, as government officials, lawmakers, and development partners gathered for a sensitization, coordination and orientation meeting supported by the Government of the United States of America and UNICEF on the new USG Funding for Nutrition.
The meeting, convened by the Kano State Ministry of Budget Planning and the State Committee on Food and Nutrition, in Kaduna on Thursday, focused on improving coordination across sectors and strengthening implementation of nutrition interventions targeting pregnant women and children in the critical first 1,000 days of life.
Speaking at the meeting, KaranVeer Singh, Nutrition Manager at the UNICEF Kano Field Office, said the intervention is supported through funding from the Government of the United States of America and is being implemented across eight states in Nigeria, including Kano.
He explained that the programme is designed specifically to address nutrition during the first 1,000 days of life, from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday, a period widely recognized as the most critical window for preventing stunting, wasting, and long-term developmental challenges.
According to him, the focus is to improve access to nutrition services, maternal support, and child feeding practices for pregnant women and children under two years of age.
However, he expressed concern over the severity of the situation in Kano State, noting that available data shows that over 50% of children under five are chronically malnourished and stunted, indicating widespread and persistent undernutrition.
He stressed that addressing the crisis requires coordinated action across multiple sectors, including agriculture, livestock, education, water, sanitation, and social protection, in addition to health interventions.
Pharmacist Aminu Bashir, Permanent Secretary of the Kano State Ministry of Health, who represented the Commissioner for Health, said malnutrition is largely a reflection of economic hardship and structural poverty rather than a purely health-sector challenge.
He explained that Nigeria’s poverty threshold of approximately $2.15 per day translates to extreme economic vulnerability, and at an exchange rate of about ₦1,372 per dollar, even a $3 daily income equals roughly ₦123,000 per month.
By comparison, Nigeria’s current minimum wage of ₦70,000 per month falls significantly below this threshold, reinforcing what he described as “structural poverty among working households.”
He argued that this economic reality directly contributes to malnutrition, stating that even employed families are unable to afford adequate nutrition, thereby perpetuating cycles of undernutrition among children.
He further noted seasonal fluctuations in malnutrition cases in Kano, explaining that admissions at nutrition stabilization centres drop during harvest periods when food is available but rise significantly during the rainy season when food stocks decline and prices increase.
The Permanent Secretary added that rural-urban food supply dynamics also worsen the situation, as farmers often sell their produce immediately after harvest at low prices, only to later purchase the same food at higher market rates during lean seasons.
This pattern, combined with low literacy levels and limited household planning capacity, contributes to recurring cycles of food insecurity and malnutrition.
He stressed that without addressing agriculture, education, and income systems simultaneously, nutrition outcomes would remain poor despite health sector interventions.
Abdulhamid Abdul Minjibir, Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation at the Kano State House of Assembly, described nutrition as a critical component of human capital development and socio-economic growth.
He emphasized the importance of transparent budgeting, proper appropriation, and efficient use of public resources in achieving measurable improvements in nutrition indicators.
He reaffirmed the legislature’s commitment to supporting nutrition-related policies and ensuring that both domestic and donor-funded resources are properly captured in state budgets and implemented effectively.
Across all presentations, stakeholders agreed that malnutrition in Kano cannot be addressed by the health sector alone.
They called for stronger coordination between ministries of health, agriculture, education, water resources, and planning, alongside civil society organizations and development partners.
Participants also emphasized the need for improved budget tracking systems, better alignment of donor funding with state priorities, and stronger community-level interventions targeting pregnant women and children under two years of age.
The meeting renewed commitments to strengthen coordination mechanisms and accelerate action toward reducing the high burden of stunting and chronic malnutrition across Kano State.
