NEWS: Bi-monthly Meeting of CMAM Begins.

By Abubakar Mohammed

Adamawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency in collaboration with UNICEF begins bi-monthly CMAM meeting today with all Executive Secretaries, Nutrition Focal Persons (NFPs), National Population Commission (NPOC) of the implementing LGAs in attendance, the aim of the meeting is to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses in respect of the programme implementation in the State.

CMAM means Community Management of Acute Malnutrition, until recently the children suffering severe forms of acute malnutrition were only treated exclusively at hospital level. According to the state program officer Miss Hauwa Zowaka “In 2008, Nigeria Demographic Health Survey was conducted and the nutritional situation in the country was 14% wasting, 23% underweight, and 41% stunting”. It was against this background that several treatments that are hospital based were shift to community-based integrated approach aimed at improving treatment coverage of the severe acute malnutrition cases. 

The elements include Ready to Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF) which allows beneficiaries to be treated at home, and new classification for acute malnutrition that allows treatment adaptation according to the patient’s medical and nutritional status. Children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition receive nutrition counseling or support in a supplementary feeding programme; those that suffer severe acute malnutrition without medical complications will be treated in Outpatient Therapeutic Programme (OTP) available in all Health Centers, Clinics or Mobile Posts in the LGAs that are currently implementing the programme, while those with severe cases and medical complications will be treated as inpatients within paediatric services of Specialist and Cottage Hospitals or Clinics with inpatient facilities

In her closing remarks the Programme Officer urge the Nutrition Focal Persons (NFP), to implement the programme according to national guidelines and protocols.

The LGAs that are currently implementing the programme are Guyuk, Song, Ganye, Yola North, and Mubi North.