Health
Healthcare: World Bank supports 1.09m in Kaduna
The World Bank has supported no fewer than 1,097,048 women and children with nutrition and adolescent health packages in Kaduna State.
The intervention was recorded during the first year of implementing the bank’s Accelerating Nutrition Result in Nigeria (ANRIN).
Mr Murtala Ibrahim, the Project Coordinator, Society for Family Health (SFH), Kaduna State, and ANRIN project implementing partner, disclosed this during a courtesy visit to the Emir of Zazzau, Malam Ahmed Bamalli, on Wednesday in Zaria.
Ibrahim said in May 2021 the Emir graciously granted its request to lead the advocacy and that the visit was to update the first class traditional ruler as the ANRIN ambassador with achievements of the project.
He said SFH was implementing the ANRIN project on behalf of Kaduna State because of its expertise and SFH has achieved good results on the implementation.
The Project Coordinator said in the first year of the project implementation, it provided nine different interventions to women and children around nutrition and adolescent health.
“SFH provides counseling on exclusive breastfeeding to pregnant and breastfeeding mothers to enable them support their babies, 150,000 women were reached in that category.
“Iron, folic acid and Malaria prevention drugs was also provided to over 80,000 pregnant women for healthy pregnancy and additional 40,000 women were reached with child spacing commodities to enable them offer good care for their babies.
“We have also de-wormed over 200,000 children and provided vitamin supplement to over 240,000 children aged five years and below,”he said.
He added that they provided ORS and Zinc to prevent diarrhoea among children and over 100,000 households were reached with such services, adding that additional over 86,000 infants received micronutrients powder to prevent malnutrition.
“In all, over 1,097,048 women and children were reached in the first year of the implementation of the programme; this also shows that the project had reached 115 per cent of its target,” he said.
Ibrahim said the project attributed its success to the immense support from the emirate council and urged the royal father to sustain the advocacy of more adolescents to be in school.
He also appealed to the emir for more support in the area of funding to scale up the nutrition and adolescent health component of the project.
Earlier, Hajia Mairo Tahir, the Communications Officer, ANRIN, said the project’s objectives were aimed at increasing quality and cost effective nutrition services for pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls and children under five years in the state.
She added that the project was also aimed at reducing chronic malnutrition and maternal mortality rate which was also high in the state and the project has recorded tremendous success in reversing the ugly indices since its commencement.
According to her, the World Bank supported ANRIN Project and the Kaduna State Project Implementing Unit (PIU) has secured 2.7 million dollars (about N1.9bn) for treatment of malnourished children in the state.
The fund was used for the purchase of Ready to use Thereauphatic Food (RUTF) and food had provided significant improvement in the life of these children affected by malnutrition in the state.
She, therefore, appealed to the Emir to assist in tracking implementation of the supply of commodities in the emirate.
Responding, Bamalli commended the programme for the outstanding performance and encouraged people coming with new projects meant for the community to pass through the emirate council for optimal results.
He reiterated the commitment of the emirate council to sustain the support for the project.
Health
UNICEF emphasises importance of polio vaccination to caregivers
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has encouraged caregivers in Katsina, Kano and Jigawa States to present their eligible children for the next round of polio vaccination exercise.
Mr Michael Banda, the Officer-in-charge of UNICEF Kano Field Office, made the call in Kano at a media dialogue on the polio campaign on Friday.
The media dialogue was organised by UNICEF in collaboration with the Kano State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, with participants from the above-mentioned states.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the four-day polio vaccination exercise is scheduled to commence on April 20, across the three states.
According to the UNICEF Officer-in-charge of the Kano field office, the importance of the exercise cannot be overemphasised.
“As the data show, in Kano, Jigawa and Katsina, we have over 556,750 children who have not received one single dose of vaccination they should have received.
“These are referred to as zero-dose children. Such children inexorably are vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases, including poliomyelitis.
“This is unacceptable and must be tackled frontally. Not only is polio vaccination crucial, but all routine vaccinations are also critical to children’s survival.
“We must all work together to strengthen routine immunisation services and ensure that all children under five receive all vaccines, including the polio vaccine,” Banda said.
He added that, if all children got vaccinated and receive the vaccines they needed to receive, they would no longer be at risk of contracting polio, with attendant debilitating consequences.
He said that, rather they would have received the immunity which would protect them against vaccine-preventable diseases.
Banda emphasised that immunisation had been proven to be the most cost-effective protection against vaccine-preventable diseases.
“Let’s all work together, government, development partners, religious and traditional leaders, communities, NGOs, CSOs and the media, to ensure that every Nigerian child under five is vaccinated.
“This will protect them from not just polio, but all other vaccine-preventable diseases,” he appealed.
According to the UNICEF official, managing misinformation and vaccine hesitancy for Polio and overall vaccination is very crucial in Nigeria to stop the outbreak.
He stressed that the role of the media, including social media, was important in this aspect.
Health
Over 1,800 malnourished kids recovered in six months in Bauchi — CSOs
Rauf Oyewole, Bauchi
The Coalition of Civil Society –Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria, Bauchi State Chapter has said that through its partnership with other implementing partners they have assisted over 1,800 malnourished children to recover from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM).
The Secretary of the Network, Dabis Mwalike while addressing journalists as part of the activities marking the 10th year anniversary of the network, said that it also engaged in preventive measures against malnutrition in the state.
According to her, during the implementation, 698 healthcare providers were trained across the 20 local government areas of Bauchi, 400 community-based volunteers were trained while 4,229 comprising 2,059 males and 2,170 females, children under five identified with SAM and 7,743 made of 3661males and 4082 females, children under five identified with Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM).
She added that 1,825 children under five identified with SAM and MAM recovered. While 202 PHCs established food banks.
She said that despite all the achievements, malnutrition remains a concern to public health and a threat to child survival, growth, and development in the country, and Bauchi State according to NNHS (2018) and NDHS (2018) the State stunting rate is 46 percent, wasting is 9.5 percent while underweight is 28.2 percent and overweight is 0.5 percent.
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