This was disclosed by Governor Abdullahi Umar during the launching of a dietary diversification project supported by United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF) held at the state government house which was reported by Daily Trust.

He said reports had shown that the affected children were prone to death before  the age of five, adding that the rate of stunted growth in children was rampant in the state, describing the situation as  worrisome.

“Locally, we have the required food to address the issue, we only need to sensitize our people especially those in the rural areas on how to use the available crops and legumes to achieve balance diet,” the governor said.

In her address, field officer, UNICEF Katsina office, Zohra Nissi disclosed that, Nigeria was a country with the second highest number of malnourished children.

She said UNICEF in efforts to aid the state government in the fight against stunting,  the fund would expend a reasonable amount of money as counterpart funding to fight the scourge.