NONYE SOLUDO’S HEALTHY LIVING PAP: SOLUTION TO MALNUTRITION
By Ginika Oguji :
The Matron of Comprehensive Medical Center (CMC), Akwuzu, Oyi LGA, Mrs Josephine Ajaegbo has highlighted on the importance of eating right to mothers during the weekly antenatal care, maintaining that the Nonye Soludo healthy pap is a good solution to malnutrition.
The Matron while speaking on the need to live a healthy life, urged mothers to inculcate the Nonye Soludo healthy pap into the feeding plan of their babies.
Ajaegbo explained that United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), records Nigeria as the second highest country with stunted children in the world, with a national prevalence rate of 32 percent of children under five, while estimated 2 million children in Nigeria suffer from severe acute malnutrition which only a few of these children affected receive treatment.
The new natural pap is an intervention according to the Matron that offers all Anambra children the opportunity to grow healthy and overcome the threats of malnutrition.
Speaking further, she said that a well structured approach has been adopted for the distribution of the healthy pap across the 21 local government areas of the State, including a referral Centre in every council area where the meal can be accessed.
Each referral centre according to her develops a database that feeds a central database with information about collection, monitoring, and progress, while every child who is on the meal would be consistently monitored to ascertain their recovery progress.
She praised the Governor’s wife on her Non Governmental Organization, “Healthy Living With Nonye Soludo” which she said has continued to evolve interventions like the Saturday workout, distribution of farm seedlings, Nonye Soludo organic farm, Nonye Soludo school club and pad Bank initiative that supports the state government’s strategies in delivering effective results in the health sector, especially with the heavy impact of food insecurity as well as social and economic challenges across the country.
Nurse Chinasa Chukwueze, a registered midwife, teaching on the nutritional values of the pap explained that it contains all the essential vitamins and minerals needed for the healthy growth and development of babies. The meal according to her 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.
Nonye healthy pap according to her is easy to make, just mix with water, add to boiling water, heat and stir while boiling till it thickens and colour changes to golden brown.
It can be recalled that the wife of the Governor of Anambra State, Mrs Nonye Soludo on August 6, 2024 launched a natural ready-to-use baby food known as ‘Nonye Healthy Living Pap’ for children in the state to curb children’s malnutrition.
During the unveiling at the Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre, Awka, Mrs Soludo said that the idea behind the initiative is to rescue children with special nutritional needs as well as a mitigation programme to address challenges of 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.
*Ginika is of the Ministry of Information , Anambra State