The United Nations Children’s Fund has handed over 11,580 cartons of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food to the Gombe State Government to support the treatment of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

The Chief of UNICEF’s Bauchi Field Office, Dr Nuzhat Rafique, disclosed this on Monday during the handover ceremony, where she commended the state government for providing ₦500m in counterpart funding for nutrition interventions in 2025.

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According to Rafique, the state’s contribution was matched with an equivalent amount through the Child Nutrition Fund, enabling the procurement of essential nutrition supplies for vulnerable children.

She said the consignment contained millions of sachets of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food, commonly known as RUTF, which is specially formulated to treat children with severe acute malnutrition.

Rafique stressed the importance of ensuring that the supplies were properly distributed and monitored so they reached their intended beneficiaries.

“RUTF is specifically meant for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition and should not be used as regular food,” she said.

She urged community-based organisations, including Mama2Mama and Fathers for Good Health, to intensify public awareness about the appropriate use of the therapeutic food.

The UNICEF official also called on parents and caregivers to ensure that children receiving treatment completed their prescribed courses without interruption and followed instructions from healthcare workers.

She noted that adherence to treatment protocols was essential to achieving the desired nutritional and health outcomes.

Rafique further praised the state government for establishing a committee to prevent the diversion, abuse and misuse of the donated supplies.

She called for effective monitoring and accountability measures to protect the consignment from diversion.

The Gombe State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Prof Bertha Abdu, expressed appreciation to UNICEF for its continued support, particularly programmes aimed at improving the welfare of women and children.

Abdu described adequate nutrition as fundamental to children’s growth and development, warning that nutritional deficiencies during childhood could have serious health and developmental consequences.

She called for sustained investment in nutrition programmes to safeguard children’s wellbeing.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Science, Technology and Innovation, Habu Dahiru, said raising physically healthy and mentally sound children was essential to the state’s future development.

He described RUTF as an important intervention for treating severe acute malnutrition and said the state government was complementing UNICEF’s efforts through the local production of nutrient-rich food.

Dahiru disclosed that his ministry had increased production of locally developed nutritious food and was collaborating with the North-East Development Commission to expand its production facility to serve Gombe and neighbouring states.

He said the ministry was prepared to work with UNICEF and other development partners to expand the production of locally made nutritious food, particularly to support efforts to tackle moderate malnutrition.

Dahiru also assured that the state government would monitor the distribution of the donated therapeutic food to ensure it reached children requiring treatment.

The Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Micah Sunday, described UNICEF as a key development partner in the state’s efforts to improve children’s welfare and development.

Sunday said addressing malnutrition would benefit children’s physical health, brain development, educational outcomes and overall wellbeing.

He added that adequate nutrition was essential to raising healthy and productive citizens who could contribute meaningfully to society.

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The donation is expected to strengthen Gombe State’s response to severe acute malnutrition and improve access to therapeutic treatment for vulnerable children across the state.