Kaduna State Nutrition Officer, Mrs Ramatu Haruna on Tuesday advocated for the use of Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) as an essential tool in the fight against anaemia for pregnant women and children.
Haruna made this call at a Quarterly Review Meeting for Alive & Thrive sub-grantees and other stakeholders in Kaduna.
Alive & Thrive is a global nutrition initiative focused on improving the health and well-being of women, children, and adolescents.
Haruna, was represented by a Nutritionist from the State Primary Health Care Board, Mrs Mary Ogunrinde.
She expressed concern that anaemia during pregnancy remains a public health issue in Nigeria, with 40 per cent of the population living in poverty.
According to her, children of women who do not eat well or receive adequate nutrients during pregnancy fail to achieve optimal growth and developmental milestones.
Haruna stated that the introduction of MMS could significantly address this issue and ensure the health and well-being of both mother and child.
Presenting an overview of MMS, the State Team Lead of Alive & Thrive, Mrs Sarah Kwasu, outlined their role in the MMS intervention and expectations from stakeholders.
She said Alive & Thrive is collaborating with other partners and the government to implement MMS in the country.
According to Kwasu, a single MMS tablet contains 11 to 13 vitamins and minerals that help prevent anemia in pregnant women and their children.
Earlier, the Programme Officer of Alive & Thrive, Mrs Victoria Adams, said the meeting was designed to allow Alive & Thrive’s Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) to share their implementation experiences from inception to date.
She added that it was an opportunity to discuss challenges and best practices in providing Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) services and to explore strategic ways to sustain collaborative efforts after the exit of the CBOs.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of Kaduna South LGA, Mr Tagang Cephas, said the quarterly review meeting was impactful, reminding participants of many key aspects related to their work in various LGAs.
According to him, the meeting was also educational for the selected LGAs supported by Alive & Thrive in providing MIYCN services.
One of the sub-grantees, the Programme Manager of Carelink Resource Foundation, Mr Silas Ideva, mentioned that the MIYCN intervention supported by Alive & Thrive covers three senatorial zones in the state.
He added that the project, titled ‘Accelerating the Scale of MIYCN in Nigeria,’ focuses on taking nutrition messages to communities.
Ideva revealed that Alive & Thrive has trained CBOs in four key areas: advocacy, community mobilisation, media communication, and strategic news updating.
“My organisation is privileged to work in the central zone, covering Kaduna South and Chikun local governments, while my sub-grantee colleagues cover other LGAs in the state,” he said.
Another sub-grantee, Mr Thomas Ime, Programme Manager of Rural Women and Youth Orphanage Support Initiative (RUWYOSI), called his partnership with Alive & Thrive on the MIYCN project in Southern Kaduna a valuable opportunity.
Ime noted that this partnership has enhanced RUWYOSI’s operational capacity and increased its visibility in the nutrition and MIYCN intervention systems in Kaduna State and nationally.
He cited a recent successful assessment in their Lagos office related to a grant application submitted to USAID/Chemonics.
“The icing on the cake is that we developed this grant application after participating in Alive & Thrive’s proposal writing workshop.
“Our partnership with Alive & Thrive was instrumental in demonstrating our current programmatic and operational capacity.
“This opportunity was a great one, and I believe it is the start of many more successes. We would certainly welcome the chance to relive this experience,” Ime said.
NAN
