1 million women, children get nutrition, reproductive services support

As part of efforts to address the root causes of malnutrition in Kaduna State, eHealth Africa has provided nutrition and reproductive health services to over one million pregnant and lactating women, children and adolescent girls in Kaduna State.

The Project Director, eHealth Africa-Accelerating Nutrition Result in Nigeria (ANRiN) Project, Dr Aminu Abubakar, while speaking at a town hall meeting with community stakeholders to review progress Saturday, said the services were provided under the World Bank-supported ANRiN project, between May 2021 and May 2022, surpassing the first one-year target.

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He said the project, through a mix of counselling and service delivery, aimed to increase the utilisation of quality and cost-effective nutrition services for pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls, and children under five years.

According to him, the project is delivering an integrated community-based Basic Package of Nutrition Services (BPNS) and Adolescent Health Services (AHS) in 12 local government areas of the state including Kaduna North, Kaduna South, Chikun, Kajuru, Kagarko, Kachia, Kaura, Jaba, Zangon Kataf, Jema’a, Sanga and Ikara.

He said out of the more than one million beneficiaries, 237,432 children between 12 and 59 months were provided with deworming services, and 224,633 children between six and 59 months were reached with Vitamin A supplement.

ANRiN Project Coordinator in the state, Dr Zainab Muhammad-Idris, said that eHealth Africa and Society for Family Health (SFH) was contracted in 2021 to provide Basic Package of Nutrition Services (BPNS) and Adolescent Health Services (AHS).

She said the services were being provided at community levels to increase the utilisation of quality, cost-effective nutrition services for pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls, and children less than five years.