Photo: CRS Country Representative, Akim Kikonda, handing over Tom Brown manual to Mrs. Ladidi Kuluwa Bako-Aiyegbusi mni, the Director and Head of the Nutrition Department of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria.
By Barth Ikiebe
A Non Governmental Organisation, Catholic Relief Services, CRS, says that Nigeria has the second highest burden of stunted children in the world, with a national prevalence rate of 40% (NDHS, 2024) among children under five.
“As part of its commitments to manage this scourge of malnutrition, CRS adopted the Tom Brown approach, a multi-sectoral community-based approach implemented with integration of WASH protocols.
“Tom Brown is a supplementary food powder made from roasted ingredients such as Cereals, Soya beans and groundnuts. It is believed that the origin of the name is the instruction during preparation to “turn brown”.
The Tom Brown approach, implemented in Northern Nigeria under humanitarian conditions, supports the women using a market-based approach where mothers are given vouchers to acquire raw food materials, and jointly produce the feed within the community. It is viewed as a sustainable strategy that encourages the use of locally available food materials.
“CRS further developed a Tom Brown implementation guide which contains the step-by-step recipe for preparation of Tom Brown and its implementation”.
In a strategic meeting to partner with the government of Nigeria, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) led by the Country Representative, Akim Kikonda, met with the Director and Head of the Nutrition Department of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Mrs. Ladidi K. Bako-Aiyegbusi mni to officially hand over the CRS Tom Brown Implementation Guide as a reference material for scaling up the Tom Brown approach in the country. This is a critical step towards decreasing the number of Nigerian Children suffering Severe Acute Malnutrition”.
Akim Kikonda, the CRS Country Representative, highlighted the success of this approach in CRS-supported communities, noting its acceptance and the ease of processing using locally available ingredients.
“Our Tom Brown approach is a market-based approach where mothers are given a voucher by CRS to procure these ingredients,” added Dane Fredenburg, the CRS Head of Programming.
Mrs. Bako mni emphasized the importance of this collaboration, sharing insights from a recent stakeholders’ meeting. She noted that various State governments are already considering scaling up the use of Tom Brown to address the rising number of malnutrition cases in regions where it is not commonly used.
“I appreciate the work CRS has done and their willingness to share the manuals with us. This meeting is very timely and will support our plans to achieve zero malnutrition cases in the long run,” said Mrs. Bako.
She also mentioned that the ministry is strategically positioned to coordinate and sustain the ongoing partners’ efforts in combating malnutrition.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Health to scale up the Tom Brown approach. And are ready to support with trainers. This initiative is a testament to our shared commitment to improving nutrition and reducing malnutrition in Nigeria. Together, we can make a lasting impact on the health and well-being of communities across the country,” Akim Kikonda assured.
