UNICEF and Borno launch nutrition challenge for young people in Nigeria
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Punch
UNICEF and the Borno State Government are launching a competition for young people to design affordable meals from local foods, suited to pregnant women and young children. Proposals will be presented to a panel of professionals, notably aiming to prevent acute malnutrition during the first 1,000 days of life, according to UNICEF.
UNICEF and the Borno State Government have launched a youth innovation challenge in Maiduguri to develop local food solutions to malnutrition among pregnant women and children. The programme, called the “Youth-led Nutrition Challenge”, notably aims to protect children from acute malnutrition during the first 1,000 days of life, said Tarek Akkad, head of UNICEF’s field office in Borno, according to Punch.
Participants will have to develop affordable meals using local produce and then present their proposals to a panel of professionals. The panel will select the plans deemed the most accessible, realistic and nutritious for pregnant women and young children. Aminu Usman, a UNICEF nutrition specialist who represented Tarek Akkad at the launch, said the project should also facilitate access to nutritious food in the communities concerned and camps for displaced people.
The first pilot phase targets two local government areas in Borno State: Jere and the Maiduguri metropolitan council. Other local government areas are to be included after this phase. The project is funded by the British government through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Aminu Usman said.
