Kaduna State, SFH sign contract on nutrition, adolescent health services
The Kaduna State Project Implementation Unit, Accelerating Nutrition Result in Nigeria (ANRiN), has signed a contract with Society for Family Health (SFH) to deliver integrated basic package nutrition and adolescent health services in the state.
The ANRiN Project Coordinator, Dr Zainab Muhammad-Idris, who signed on behalf of the organisation in Kaduna on Friday, said the contract would conclude the process which begun about a year ago.
According to her, the contract, which will end by Dec. 31, 2023, will mark the commencement of delivery of integrated Basic Package of Nutrition Services (BPNS) and Adolescent Health Services (AHNS) at community level.
Also, the commissioner for Health, Dr Amina Mohammed-Baloni. explained that ANRIN is a World Bank-funded project being implemented in 12 states in the country.
She added that Kaduna State was among the 12 states due to high stunting rate of under five children, which stood at 48.1 per cent (Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2018).
She said that the step was the result of government’s commitment to improve the nutritional status of children under five years in the state.
She added that the project development objective was to increase the utilisation of quality, cost effective nutrition services among pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls, and children under five years in the state.
The commissioner said that seven non-state actors were shortlisted to deliver the BPNS and the AHN services in the state, adding that SFH emerged second after a thorough quality and cost-based selection process.
She explained that the state had been split into two for the delivery of the services by two non-state actors.
She said that SFH was responsible for Makarfi, Kubau, Kauru, Kudan, Zaria, Lere, Giwa, Igabi, Soba, Birnin Gwari and Sabon Gari local government areas with an estimated population of 3.1 million.
“One of the services to be delivered is increased knowledge of mothers and caregivers of children zero to 23 months of age on improved behaviours related to maternal, infant and young child feeding practices.
“SFH will also provide provision micronutrient powders to children six to 23 months to improve the quality of complementary feeding.
“It will also provide iron-folic acid tablets to pregnant women during pregnancy through counseling during ante-natal care sessions.
“SFH will equally provide intermittent preventive treatment for malaria during ante-natal care to pregnant women,” she said.
She said that the NGO would also provide zinc/oral rehydration solution for treatment of diarrhea among children between six and 59 months.
She equally said that SFH would provide semi-annual vitamin A supplementation for children of 6 to 59 months of age and semi-annual deworming for children 12 to 59 months of age.
“This is a performance-based project, and we believe SFH with her vast experience will deliver the best interventions that will improve the nutritional status of our children and women in the long term.
“We, thus, look forward to improved nutritional indices that can be attributed to this intervention,” the commissioner said.
Dr Omokhudu Idogho, the Managing Director, SFH, said that winning the ANRiN contract was a very exciting moment and a rare opportunity to do something that the group always dreamt of.
Idogho, who signed on behalf of SFH, said that the organisation had always wanted to support Kaduna State to achieve population-labour impact.
He added that “SFH is a proudly Nigerian organisation and was already looking at interventions that will profoundly change the nutrition indices of the state. As such, it is a personal commitment that we bring into this.
“I want to assure you we will go beyond the call of duty to deliver a programme that the state will be very proud of and make a difference in the life of the targeted beneficiaries.”
