By Marie-Therese Nanlong

Jos – Since November, 2025, each Wednesday, the Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) in Nasarawa Gwong, Jos North, is alive with movement.

Nursing mothers, babies strapped to their backs or cradled in their arms, form an orderly queue in the facility. What draws them is a small sachet with life-altering potential, the Small Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements (SQ-LNS).

Across Plateau State, this plays out weekly in two highly-patronised PHCs.

The supplements, distributed free of charge, are part of a child nutrition intervention jointly funded by the Plateau State Government and UNICEF through the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF), a global pooled financing mechanism managed by UNICEF.

The current supply being distributed was formally handed over to the State government in September 2025, and nursing mothers, nutrition experts, community leaders, and others reel out its positive impacts on children.

For mothers on the queue, the benefits are not abstract statistics but visible changes in their children’s bodies and behaviour. Rukayat Shuaibu, holding her 10-month-old baby tightly, said the difference became clear within weeks.

“I mix the supplements with her pap, and she gains strength quickly. I also spend less on feeding her now. Before, I spent a lot buying other ingredients. Now, I only need red millet to prepare pap with the supplement,” she said.

Also, Sarah Bulus echoed the same relief. “Before now, my baby looked very tiny and frail,” she said. “She is now strong and healthy. I no longer need multiple ingredients for pap. It really helps her grow very well.”

For Asiya Hamza, the change came with milestones she had been anxiously waiting for. She said her baby began crawling and holding objects for the first time after starting the supplement, signs of improved motor development.

A Community leader, Rabiu Abdullahi, and a Women Leader, Mariam Shuaibu say the intervention has arrived at a critical moment.

Abdullahi noted, “Without the joint intervention of the state government and UNICEF, many children in this area would be malnourished with stunted growth.” The supplements, Shuaibu added, “support early prevention of moderate and severe malnutrition among children aged six to 11 months.”

Rahinatu Adamu, the Officer in charge of PHC Nasarawa Gwong, said the participation has exceeded expectation, and called for the programme to be sustained.

“Many nursing mothers are participating. We mobilise mothers, and uptake has been very high across the local government area,” she said.

At the Township PHC in Jos North, demand continues to surge. Nutrition Focal Person for the LGA, Nanre Kannap, said some centres now attend to over 400 mothers weekly.

“Initially, women didn’t fully understand the programme. But after community mobilisation and seeing improvements in their children, they started coming in large numbers,” she said.

The success story was not different at the PHC Bukuru Gyel ‘A’ in the Jos South LGA where Jennifer Samson, and others described the mental and physical development and growth of their babies saying the initiative is “nutrition simplified.”

The programme began with a ₦200 million release from the Plateau State Government, matched by another ₦200 million from UNICEF under the Child Nutrition Fund.

According to the Deputy Director, State Nutrition Office, Silas Nansel, the funding allowed distribution to begin in two health facilities per local government area.

“This is a government-led intervention supported by partners; we are seeing real impacts on child health, improvements in children’s growth, strength and immunity, while households save on feeding costs.

The focus is on early prevention, so children do not progress to severe malnutrition. The programme has shown positive results and may be scaled to include children up to 23 months, depending on supplies,” Nansel said.

The programme is in line with the UNICEF’s Nutrition Strategy 2020–2030 which prioritises preventing all forms of malnutrition in infants and young children.

SQ-LNS is 20-gram food-based supplements providing essential macronutrients and 24 micronutrients, and are designed to complement not replace breast milk.

Evidence shows they reduce stunting, wasting and micronutrient deficiencies, while supporting cognitive and motor development.

In Plateau State, the fight against child malnutrition unfolds in PHCs, one sachet, one child, at a time.