By Segun Adewale in Bauchi
As part of efforts to prevent malnutrition and improve child health in Bauchi State, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), with support from the United States government, has provided lipid-based nutrient supplements to over 40,000 children aged six to 23 months to strengthen child health across the state .
UNICEF nutrition specialist at its Bauchi Field Office, Philomena Irene, told journalists in Bauchi yesterday that the intervention was part of the efforts to strengthen nutrition and maternal and child healthcare across the state.
She said the support, provided through a grant to the state government in collaboration with UNICEF and other partners, had strengthened nutrition interventions at community and healthcare-facility levels.
Irene said over 6,000 members of the “Mama-to-Mama” and “Fathers for Good Health” groups had been trained to provide health education and promote positive health-seeking behaviours in their communities.
She added that more than 50 healthcare workers had been trained on nutrition supplementation, while logistics and information management systems had also been strengthened to improve delivery, monitoring and reporting.
According to her, UNICEF had also strengthened Food and Nutrition Committees at the local government level to encourage greater ownership of nutrition programmes.
“With the support from the US Government, we have been able to strengthen the Food and Nutrition Committee at the local government level, especially by ensuring that local governments are in the forefront and drivers of nutrition interventions, both nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific activities,” she said.
Irene said some local governments had committed and released funds for nutrition activities, including the procurement of nutrition commodities, ready-to-use therapeutic food and multiple micronutrient supplements to prevent anaemia among pregnant women.
She said advocacy meetings had also been held with legislators and local government chairmen to secure stronger budgetary commitments for nutrition programmes.
The UNICEF specialist stressed the importance of the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, from pregnancy until the child reaches two years.
“The first 1,000 days in the life of a child, from when the mother is pregnant to when the child is two years, is the most critical period in the life of a child,” she said.
According to her, about 75 per cent of brain development takes place during the period, alongside the development of the muscular and skeletal systems and vital organs.
She warned that poor nutrition and inadequate healthcare during the period could have long-term consequences for children’s development, health and productivity.
Meanwhile, community volunteers said the interventions had contributed to improved health-seeking behaviour among families in Jama’are local government area.
Yusuf Hafizu, a “Fathers for Good Health” advocate in Jama’are D Ward, said the initiative had helped change attitudes towards antenatal care, immunisation and other essential health services.
He said he had convinced some parents who previously refused to vaccinate their children to embrace immunisation.
“Previously, he would not take his children for vaccinations. However, after raising his awareness, guiding him and dispelling the myths circulating about vaccines, he now ensures that his children are vaccinated and his wives attend the hospital,” Hafizu said.
Also speaking, a “Mama-to-Mama” advocate, Rahama Dauda Abdullahi, said the training she received had improved her knowledge of maternal and child health, particularly nutrition, immunisation and antenatal care.
She said volunteers had intensified sensitisation on immunisation, antenatal care and hospital deliveries, adding that the campaign had contributed to a reduction in home births in communities where they operate.
Abdullahi said she visits up to 30 households every week to educate families on maternal and child healthcare, covering Tudun Wada, Kofar Fada and Yamma communities in Jama’are.
The Director of Primary Health Care in Jama’are LGA, Abdullahi Adamu Sulaiman, said the local government was taking steps to sustain the interventions.
He said the area had recorded improvements in maternal and child health outcomes through programmes such as “Mama-to-Mama” and “Fathers for Good Health.”
Sulaiman commended UNICEF and other development partners for their support in strengthening healthcare delivery, immunisation, and child health in Bauchi State.
