Kaduna Scores EHA-ANRIN Project On Nutrition High

Kaduna State government has expressed satisfaction with the nutrition services being rendered by one of the key consortium partners engaged by the state, the E-Health Africa Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (EHA-ANRIN) a World Bank funded project.

The project manager of the Accelerating Nutrition Result in Nigeria (ANRIN) Kaduna State, Dr Zainab Muhammed Idris, disclosed this at a one-day ARIN town hall meeting in Kaduna.

The town hall meeting with the objectives to bring beneficiaries and other key stakeholders together to review progress so far, challenges and lessons learnt and create an avenue for dialogue to deepen collaboration with stakeholders and generate feedback from beneficiaries to inform future planning was organised by EHA-ANRIN.

According to Idris while fielding questions from newsmen on the sideline of the meeting, “We have two state actors currently providing services across 23 LGAs of Kaduna State. Each state actor has one half of the state to carter for. For E-Health Africa, they are in-charge of 12 LGAs providing services that includes maternal, infants and young child nutrition services, providing micro-nutrient powders for children 6-26 months.

“They are also providing deworming with albendazole, services to pregnant women with iron folic acid during antenatal, treatment for malaria, treat diarrhea and provide zinc, provide services for adolescents girls especially married adolescents with short and long-term contraception.”

She said, the project seek to achieve increase access to quality nutrition services for vulnerable groups comprising of pregnant women, lactating women and children less than five years of age, adding that, “E-Heath Africa are Key consortium partners engaged by Kaduna state government with set targets which they have already exceeded.”

Also speaking, Dr Aminu Abubakar, the project director EHA- ANRIN said Kaduna State is among 12 implementing states, adding that the essence of the project is to improve nutritional well being of the adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and children under 5 years.

He said, the project was initially meant to be for five years but due to some challenges it is now reduced to three years from May 2021 when it started and will terminate by December, 2023.

One of the beneficiaries, Hajiya Hadiza Haruna said since pregnancy, EHA ANRIN have been committed to rendering of services to her till she gave birth adding that they also helped her in family planning which has been helpful to her.