As part of efforts to tackle malnutrition in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) a group, Heal the Youth foundation, is partnering the FCT Primary Health Care Board and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to reach 500 households within the FCT.
The project manager, USAID Nutrition Programme, Heal the Youth, Dr. Mavis Robinson said the programme was being implemented in 30 primary health care facilities across six area councils in the FCT, targeting 500 households which translates to 2,000 indirect beneficiaries.
She also said that the FCT have different strategies that they do to identify children that are malnourished and as well as follow up with these children so that they don’t fall back.
Robinson said working with the NYSC will give the programme more impact at the community as the corps members are trained on how to sensitive the community dweller on the effect of exclusive breastfeeding healthy eating to avoid malnutrition, especially in children and pregnant women.
She said they are working specifically with the NYSC Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) group, saying the SDGs is always oriented towards addressing global issues, adding that malnutrition is a global issue. “It is actually an emergency, so we must address it”, said Robinson.
Robinson further stated that, “We are working with the Primary Health Care Board and other partners to address malnutrition, specifically moderate and acute malnutrition to get a relapse for children that have been recently treated for Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). So all our work now is at the primary health care facilities across the FCT.
“Right now, there are some gaps that exist in the health systems and Nigeria is already ready for the task shifting and task sharing policy. Like now, we have the NYSC who are working specifically with the SDG group.
“One of the ways we can address the issue is to work with community structures, the NYSC group, they are going to help us, we are going to see some strategy and increase the knowledge of caregivers and mother who have children that are already malnourished, how they can improve their knowledge in the prevention of malnutrition.
“We know that this NYSC group can do something to make sure that women will not give birth to children that will eventually die.”
