The Katsina State Government on Wednesday commenced the 2026 SMART Nutrition Survey to assess malnutrition, food insecurity and related health challenges across the state’s 34 Local Government Areas.
The exercise is expected to generate updated data on children and women to guide government and development partners in targeting nutrition interventions.
Speaking at the flag-off in Katsina, Prof. Saifullahi Ibrahim, the Statistician General of the Katsina State Bureau of Statistics, described the survey as a critical investment in evidence-based governance.
“Statistics provide the evidence upon which governments make decisions, allocate resources, monitor progress and assess whether public interventions are achieving the desired results,” he said.
The 2025 SMART Survey recorded 7.4 per cent Global Acute Malnutrition, 46.3 per cent stunting and 25.8 per cent underweight among children in the state.
Although acute malnutrition declined from 13.5 per cent in 2022 to 7.4 per cent in 2025, officials said the high rates of stunting and underweight remained a concern.
The survey also found that only 21.2 per cent of children were exclusively breastfed, while minimum dietary diversity stood at 28.5 per cent.
Ibrahim identified poverty, inflation, conflict, displacement, childhood illnesses and inadequate intervention coverage as major drivers of malnutrition.
He added that about 73,500 people faced emergency food insecurity between October and December 2025, with further deterioration projected during the 2026 lean season.
The survey will assess child nutrition, mortality, morbidity, maternal nutrition, feeding practices, health-seeking behaviour and WASH indicators using SMART methodology across seven domains.
The Statistician General stressed the importance of data quality, saying, “The quality of a policy decision can never be better than the quality of the evidence upon which it is based.”
In the meantime, Nura Shehu, the UNICEF Planning and Monitoring Specialist, commended the state government’s commitment to improving nutrition but warned that the high stunting and underweight rates required sustained action.
“While the decline in acute malnutrition is encouraging, the continued high prevalence of stunting and underweight demonstrates that substantial challenges remain,” Shehu said.
He said UNICEF would continue supporting evidence-based nutrition programming and urged survey teams to ensure accurate data collection.
UNICEF also commended Governor Dikko Radda for funding the survey, describing the initiative as an investment in better planning and improved outcomes for children.
Mohammed Bashir, the IRC and ALIMA Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, pledged continued support for the state’s nutrition efforts.
He urged stakeholders to prioritise data quality, community participation, security and strict adherence to the SMART methodology.
The organisations stressed that the findings must translate into concrete interventions for vulnerable communities.
Hon Rabo Tambaya, the Chairman of ALGON, Katsina State, speaking on behalf of the 34 local government chairmen, pledged support for community mobilisation and access to selected households.
“The success of any nutrition programme ultimately depends on our ability to understand the realities facing our communities,” he said.
Stakeholders said the ultimate measure of the survey would be whether its findings lead to better-targeted interventions and improved nutrition outcomes for children and women.
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