A non-governmental advocacy group, the Media Centre Against child Malnutrition (MeCAM) is partnering with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and Scale-up Nutrition Business Network (SBN), to boost information sharing on nutrition in Nigeria.

The partnership is sequel to the forthcoming MeCAM Nutrition Symposium scheduled to hold in Lagos on Friday, August 4, 2017, with the theme “Malnutrition, child development and the media.”

According to a press release signed by Julie Ekong , the Director of Outreach, MeCAM Nigeria  , the National Coordinator of Media Centre Against child Malnutrition (MeCAM), Mr. Remmy Nweke, said that the partnership would go a long way in scaling up media participation in the crusade to better the lots of Nigerians on nutrition with the right and accurate information.

He noted that the partnership would benefit child development and the role of media in a developing economy like Nigeria and beckoned on other stakeholders to emulate GAIN by partnering with MeCAM in this event.

Nweke, who is also the Group Executive Editor at DigitalSENSE Africa Media, also disclosed that at the symposium , the leadership of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and Scale-up Nutrition Business Network (SBN) would discussing “Communicating Nutrition Messages to Stakeholders: Role of the Media.”

The GAIN and SBN team, he confirmed, would be led by Country Team Lead at GAIN and coordinator of SBN Nigeria, Uduak Igbeka, to dwell on the sub-theme  alongside other experts with vast experiences on the subject matter.

According to him, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recently declared that an estimated 12.9 per cent of the Nigeria’s 190m population has been projected to be among some 5 million undernourished people in the world today.

Nweke revealed that MeCAM is resolute to use this symposium to not just draw public attention to the threat that malnutrition poses to the future of the country, but to also correct the impression that this menace is restricted to the poor.

He emphasized that UNICEF had estimated that at least 2.5m Nigerian children suffer from acute malnutrition (SAM), thus posing the danger of many of them being at risk of death unless properly treated and of course with right information.

This situation, he said is dangerous to the socioeconomic wellbeing of the entire country.

Media Centre Against Child Malnutrition (MeCAM) Nigeria was founded Thursday, August 28, 2015, as a media advocacy group against child malnutrition and well-being, as well as to strengthen the agro-nutrition capacity and interest of its members professionally in contribution to nation-building, especially in Nigeria and across the continent of Africa among developing countries of the world.

MeCAM is committed to showcasing successful and development efforts in the area of agro-nutrition for the benefit of mankind and for Africa emancipation from extreme hunger especially in children, women and society, centred on Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).