The Project Coordinator of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, Ms. Rabi Adamou, has expressed concerns over the spike in severe and moderate cases of malnutrition recorded from January to June in Bauchi State.
Adamou spoke at a news conference on Thursday in Bauchi, saying that 23,010 cases were recorded during the six-month period in the state.
MSF is a France-based international, medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and exclusion from healthcare.
The project coordinator said that the organisation commenced free treatment of malnutrition in Ganjuwa Local Government Area (LGA) in 2022.
She said that the statistics were recorded under the ongoing project aimed at providing free pediatrics and nutrition care for children up to age 15.
According to her, the beneficiaries of the treatment came from other states, such as Gombe, Jigawa, Kano and Taraba as well as other LGAs in the state.
Adamou said that MSF operates in Kafin Madaki, Kafin Liman and Miya wards in Ganjuwa LGA.
“In Bauchi, 5,787 and 17,223 children were admitted to the In-patient Therapeutic Feeding Center (ITFC) and In-patient Pediatric Department and Ambulatory Therapeutic Feeding Centers (ATFCs).
“This number has increased by 127 per cent in ITFC and 123 per cent in ATFCs from the same period last year,” she said.
She also said that MSF had concluded plans to expand the capacity of the facility from 250 bedded capacity to 350 bedded capacity to meet the demand from the region.
She also said that MSF had treated 10,132 cases malaria, 976 cases of measles and 243 cases of pertussis in 2024.
Contributing, the Medical Coordinator, MSF in Nigeria, Dr Thierry Boyom, said that Integrated Community Case Management (ICCM) would be inaugurated on July 19 to expand the existing community approach in treatment of malnutrition in Ganjuwa LGA.
Boyom said that the ICCM activities were diagnosis and treatment of malnutrition, malaria and diarrhoea to be piloted in eight villages in Miya Ward by trained Community Orientated Resource Persons.
He expressed concern over some of the possible challenges against the programme, such as defaulting among clients.
“We provide transportation fare to caregivers to address the issues of defaulting from appointment dates but we still record such issues,” he said.
Also, the Executive Chairman, Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, said that the present administration had planned to establish a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food factory to address malnutrition in the state.
He commended the numerous contributions of MSF in the state in the areas of malnutrition, malaria and management of their outbreak.(NAN)
