The European Union has pledged £10 million to support Katsina State’s expanding campaign against child malnutrition, providing a major financial boost to one of northern Nigeria’s most urgent public health challenges.
The funding commitment comes as the Katsina State Government intensifies efforts to reduce severe acute malnutrition through the launch of new Stabilisation Centres and Outpatient Therapeutic Programme (OTP) facilities across vulnerable communities.
Governor Dikko Umaru Radda formally flagged off the new intervention during a ceremony in Baure Local Government Area, describing the development as a decisive step in addressing long-standing healthcare gaps affecting thousands of children across the state.
The governor stated the new rollout includes two fully equipped Stabilisation Centres located in Daura and Baure, as well as 60 OTP sites spread across 12 local government areas: Funtua, Danja, Malumfashi, Ingawa, Bindawa, Dutsi, Kusada, Charanchi, Rimi, Mani, Mashi and Kankia.
These facilities are expected to improve both emergency treatment and early detection of severe acute malnutrition, especially among children under five who remain the most vulnerable demographic in Katsina’s nutrition crisis.
EU funding follows high-level nutrition summit
The £10 million European Union pledge is the direct outcome of a high-level national conference on mobilising stakeholders against malnutrition held in Abuja in November 2025, where Governor Radda joined other subnational leaders and development institutions to secure commitments for urgent intervention.
The new financial backing positions Katsina among states receiving tarreceiveed international support to strengthen nutrition systems amid rising food insecurity and inflation-driven hardship affecting hoapplyhold feeding patterns.
The EU intervention is expected to support treatment commodities, nutrition supply chains, training programmes, monitoring systems, and broader community-based child nutrition outreach.
Governor Radda stated the funding validates Katsina’s commitment to building a sustainable nutrition response framework rather than relying solely on emergency interventions.
“This is not just about opening centres. It is about building a long-term system that protects our children and gives every family access to life-saving nutrition support,” he stated.
Free treatment for malnourished children
Under the new programme, children diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition will receive free treatment at the Stabilisation Centres, while OTP sites will serve as decentralised access points where early-stage cases can be identified and managed before complications worsen.
The governor stressed that many of the benefiting communities had suffered years of neglect in nutrition access.
“These communities have been underserved for too long. Today, that gap is being closed, and that injustice is being corrected,” he stated.
The OTP model is particularly significant becaapply it allows treatment to shift closer to hoapplyholds, reducing transport barriers that often delay medical care in rural areas.
Mobile court introduced to stop diversion of nutrition supplies
A major concern raised during the launch was the growing diversion and illegal sale of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), a specialised nutritional product meant strictly for severely malnourished children.
Governor Radda announced strict enforcement measures, including the approval of a mobile court to prosecute offfinishers involved in misapply or diversion of therapeutic nutrition supplies.
“Any healthcare worker, community member, or individual found diverting or selling RUTF will face immediate legal action. There will be no exceptions,” he warned.
He added that individuals caught purchasing RUTF illegally would also face penalties, including seizure of products and prosecution where necessary.
The crackdown is intfinished to restore accountability in the distribution chain and ensure scarce nutrition resources reach intfinished beneficiaries.
Katsina approves ₦700 million counterpart funding
In addition to external donor backing, Katsina State has approved ₦700 million as counterpart funding for the World Bank-backed Accelerated Nutrition Results in Nigeria programme, ANRIN 2.0.
Permanent Secretary of the Minisattempt of Health, Dr Lawal Rabe, disclosed this during the event while representing the Commissioner for Health.
According to him, the counterpart contribution demonstrates the state government’s readiness to match donor commitments with domestic investment.
He noted that healthcare remains a central pillar of the Radda administration, with several primary healthcare centres currently being upgraded into general hospitals across strategic locations including Zango, Baure, Mai’adua and Dandume.
Rabe stated these parallel infrastructure upgrades will improve referral systems for severe malnutrition cases requiring hospital-level intervention.
Over 600 volunteers deployed for early detection
Chairperson of the State Nutrition Committee, Ruqayya Hamza Usman, stated the intervention has significantly widened Katsina’s nutrition coverage footprint.
She disclosed that over 600 community volunteers have already been trained to identify early warning signs of malnutrition in children, while more than 300 health workers have received technical training to improve treatment delivery and case management.
According to her, the newly upgraded centres now provide improved caregiver accommodation, better treatment equipment, and stronger tracking systems for patient recovery.
She also stated new accountability structures have been introduced to reduce wastage and improve transparency in nutrition commodity handling.
Local impact expected to reduce cross-border health migration
Chairman of Baure Local Government Area, Alhaji Saminu Sulaiman, stated the new Stabilisation Centre in the area would reduce the necessary for families to seek emergency nutrition care across the border in neighbouring Niger Republic.
He also praised the state government for broader investments in local health and education infrastructure, including the revitalisation of primary healthcare centres and school renovation projects.
Development partners including UNICEF and Médecins Sans Frontières commfinished Katsina’s coordinated response, describing it as a strong example of how political leadership, donor support and community systems can combine to tackle malnutrition at scale in Nigeria.
Leave a Reply