Malnutrition: Yobe, FAO begins advocacy campaign on Tom Brown production

Malnutrition: Yobe, FAO begins advocacy campaign on Tom Brown production

The Yobe State Primary Health Care Management Board (PHCMB), Tuesday, embarked on an advocacy campaign targeting traditional leaders, religious leaders, and community members to scale up the production and utilization of the Tom Brown initiative in Fune and Jakusko Local Government Areas of the state.

The monitoring and evaluation team, led by the program field assistant, Auwal Ibrahim Jauro, explained that the program, with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is a three-month activity planned to provide free nutritious food to 1,845 targeted malnourished children under the age of five.

He stated that the intervention program targets 874 children in Damagum community of Fune LGA, as well as 947 from Dachia community of Jakusko LGA, mostly malnourished children who were discharged from hospitals and those from vulnerable families. 

He further revealed that the program would also train 10 women health workers in each implemented community on Tom Brown production. These women will then conduct step-down training for vulnerable families across the communities on how to prepare Tom Brown for their families. 

Mr. Jauro, during the awareness campaign, explained that Tom Brown is a traditional Nigerian food supplement made with a combination of different cereals and locally sourced agricultural products such as soybeans, millet, corn, and groundnuts. 

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“Tom Brown is usually eaten for breakfast, often as porridge. Its high nutritional content makes it especially beneficial for infants, young children, and breastfeeding women to prevent malnutrition and support weight gain,” he said. Hence, the need for community members to take the Tom Brown production very seriously, as it also has numerous benefits. 

Earlier, the team paid homage to the district head of Damagum, Alhaji Idris Mai Sale, and the village head of Dachia, Alhaji Maman Dada, as part of their advocacy mission to the communities. The traditional leaders assured them of their full support in ensuring the program achieves its desired objectives.

Expanding the production of Tom Brown presents multiple benefits such as generating economic opportunities, particularly for women and youth, supporting local farmers and driving sustainable growth, enhancing government resources through increased economic activity and contributing to long-term resilience in food security and nutrition respectively. Blueprint