By Ovat Abeng
First Lady of Anambra State, Dr Mrs Nonye Soludo, has launched Nonye’s healthy living PAP (Akamu), to help provide solution for child malnutrition in the state.
The official launching of the product which took place at the Prof Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre Awka, on Tuesday, has in attendence health stakeholders including WHO representatives, community and religious leaders, women, youths and adolescents.
Speaking shortly after the unveiling of the product, Mrs Soludo highlighted the importance of addressing key health challenges in Anambra including the just launched “Nonye’s healthy living PAP in the state.
She said the launched of the PAP is a vital health project in Anambra State that emphasises the importance of practising good health-seeking behaviours for the well-being of mothers, children, adolescents, and the whole family.
According to her, “months ago, before this idea was conceptualized, I had finished receiving a delegation from UNICEF. The central focus of that meeting was about tackling malnutrition among children in Anambra State. The revelations from UNICEF, alongside a valid will to make a difference, spurred us into action.
“Anambra State is known for her strong leadership presence in almost every national rating. Be it in education, health, trade and commerce, infrastructure, leadership, and human capital productivity, Anambra has maintained consistent records of excellence and peerlessness. Today, we are here to continue in that line of history – this time for a course that matters so much to humanity.
“I’m super proud of what we have achieved in this tasking journey. The build-up to the result before us today demanded a lot from us. As an NGO that is basically self-funded, Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo Initiative took up this challenge, knowing at the back of our minds that we can actually make a long-term difference with the little effort. Again, this is another testament to the fact that if you can dream it, you can achieve it. This incredible journey, which was conceptualized over a small dining table, has become a historical reality.
“Anambra’s nutrition profile over the past few years has maintained a steady swing around critical numbers. According to official data, from 2008 to 2018, Anambra State has demonstrated notable trends in nutrition compared to other states in the South East Zone. In 2008, Anambra had lower rates of stunting, wasting, and underweight than the regional averages, reflecting a stronger performance. However, by 2013, Anambra’s stunting, wasting, and underweight rates worsened, surpassing the regional averages.
“In 2018, the State reversed these trends, improving across all indicators. Stunting decreased to 13.8%, outperforming the regional rate of 18.1%, while wasting and underweight rates fell significantly to 2.5% and 6.9%, respectively, both lower than the regional averages of 4.7% and 10.6%. This suggests that Anambra State has made substantial progress in addressing nutritional challenges and now performs better than the states in the South East Zone in these key areas. The state has also made significant progress in that regard over the past two years. With critical investments in the health sector and greater attention to primary health care delivery – including the ongoing free antenatal care and delivery services, nutritional securities led by intense campaign on exclusive breastfeeding – we have gained weight on the national nutritional index compared to other states in the country.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are here today to launch Nonye’s Healthy Living Pap and introduce this natural formula into the state’s mitigation programme for malnutrition.
“Nonye’s Healthy Living Pap is a pure natural meal that contains basic dietary nutrients to help children who are dealing with acute or minor malnutrition. The meal is made up of three special ingredients, namely: groundnut, corn, and soya beans, which are rich in carbohydrates, healthy fats, fibre, protein and zinc. The Pap also boasts nutritional benefits like vitamins B1, B2, B3, and iron.
“Overall, Nonye’s Healthy Living Pap is a rich solution to nutritional deficiencies in children.
The pap can also support breast milk for children above the age of six months. Everything about Nonye’s Healthy Living Pap is purely organic and natural. The production principles take strict observation of hygiene and sanitary records. We do not play with that.
The idea behind this journey is to rescue our children with special nutritional needs. Ours is only a complementary step that supports existing strategic government policies. In the medium term, we want to move from our present second spot as the state with the lowest number of Under-5 mortality to the first position, and maintain the spot for as long as it takes. We are very close. In driving a commitment that thinks inclusiveness, we want to ensure that our children are saved from the threats of diseases aggravated by poor nutrition. Aware of the prevalent protein deficiency among children in Nigeria caused by accessibility, availability and affordability of food items, including protein sources, we want to close the gap by providing all-round, effective intervention for homes and communities.
“We have carefully created a seamless distribution pattern for this product across the twenty-one local government areas of Anambra State. Every local government will have a known referral centre where this meal can be accessed. Each referral centre will develop a database that feeds our central database with information about collection, monitoring, and progress and every child who is on the meal will be consistently monitored to ascertain their recovery progress. Records must be kept up to date to help us evaluate cases and results.
“Nonye’s Healthy Living Pap is strictly for children with special nutritional needs. Local government areas with a high population of children with malnutrition will be our major focal point. Most importantly, it is 100% free of charge.
“I appeal to those in whose care, we are leaving this product to understand its purpose and always stick to that.
Mrs Soludo also commended the World Health Organisation WHO and other Health partners for their continued support in quality healthcare delivery in the state.”
Earlier in his remarks, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Obidike, outlined the objectives of the programme, noting that it will ensure the well-being and health of mothers, expectant mothers, newborn babies, children up to the age of five and teenagers.
He said the Soludo led-administration has established various programmes, infrastructure and manpower development to support healthy pregnancies and ensure that mothers and babies remain healthy.
The Commissioner also highlighted the government’s shift towards prevention rather than treatment and the deployment of experienced staff to strengthen community-level healthcare services, aiming to keep residents healthy and happy.
In their separate contributions, the Provost, College of Health Science Obosi, Dr. Dan Ezeobi and the National President of Anambra State Association of Town Union ASATU, Barrister Titus Akpodu, commended the Anambra State Government’s unwavering commitment to children’s health and well-being, applauding the first lady for prioritising children’s health and consistently organising healthy living programmes to sensitized Ndi-Anambra on the need to live healthy always.
They also promised to spread the message across the 179 communities that constitute the state.
