Mary Dinah Foundation (MDF) has commenced Zero Hunger Programme for vulnerable groups in Yobe State, northeast Nigeria.

MDF is executing this project in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 34 communities tied to the state.

The programme, which is designed to feed 16,000 persons daily, covers vulnerable groups, including women and children, in Damagun, Idi Barde, Fune IDP Camp, Jenga, Dogon Rigiya, Kasuwa, and Sabon Line.

In Nigeria’s northeast region, more than 800,000 children are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2021, including nearly 300,000 with severe acute malnutrition who are at imminent risk of death, according to UNICEF.

The United Nations agency, in a 2018 report on the state of nutrition in northeast Nigeria, revealed that one in every five children faced the problem of severe malnutrition due to the Boko Haram insurgency.

‘The core aim of the programme is to contribute to the overall reduction in morbidity and mortality caused by malnutrition among infants and pregnant/lactating mothers’, Chairperson of the Foundation, Mary Dinah, said in a statement.

‘I would like to thank the American people for their generosity. It is their daily support that enables global projects of this scale to stay sustainable through USAID’.

For his part, MDF Nutrition Director, Jerry Ezike, said the programme was responding to a report by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) that 45 percent of death among children under age five was related to malnutrition.

‘Specifically, due to Covid-19, road closures and restrictions have led to further scarcity of food in already hard to reach areas, making food prices soar far above what the communities can afford. This programme alleviates the perils of hunger and poverty’, Ezike said.

The Zero Hunger programme, which is targeted at providing over four million meals to participants annually, offers monthly water and sanitation hygiene training, sensitisation through monthly mother-to-mother coordination to promote best practice, and spreading of nutrition messages to community and religious leaders.

The programme is also supported by UNICEF, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), as well as Yobe State Emergency Management Agency (YSEMA) and Ministry of Health.

Source: Mary Dinah Foundation

Photo source: Mary Dinah Foundation