By Danjuma Attah, Gombe
A ten day training for 228 Primary Health Care workers from all the 114 electoral Wards of Gombe State on addressing malnutrition through Maternal Infant Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) has commenced.
According to Suleiman Mamman, lead facilitator for the training (15th-24th December, 2024), the MIYCN policy is an improvement from the Infant and Young Child Nutrition (IYCN) policy which had been ongoing since 2012.
It is being organised by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with World Bank, ANRiN and Gombe State Government.
The new policy which has ten manuals, breastfeeding, adolescent health, maternal health, monitoring behavioural change communication among others, now adequately factors the mother since she plays a very critical role in the development of the child during pregnancy.
Suleiman said, “the course started with the secondary facilities last week and now we are doing it for the Primary Health Care facilities with two participants from each of 114 political wards of Gombe State”.
He described it as a wholistic approach to addressing malnutrition and maternal child health in the State which has a very high mortality indices. Others are, HIV/AIDS, stunting levels, wasting among many others.
“By the time we do the MIYCN properly, there will be no need of buying plumpy nuts or RUTF thus, ensuring that our stunting and wasting levels will go down by next year”, Mr Suleiman assured.
Dr. Maryam Abubakar, Director, Community and Primary Health in the Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency, explained further that the stunting indices in Gombe State is very bad as such, the policy will address maternal and child malnutrition.
“With the training at the grassroots, since usually, malnutrition does not only occur when a child is just born, even before he is being given birth to, he can be malnourished.
“So, if you improve the nutrition status of the mother, it will give a good result in terms of delivering a healthy baby and with that our stunting rate will improve and the indices of malnutrition will improve”, she pointed out.
She adds that, “in terms of maternal mortality, we know that carrying pregnancy and delivery is a physiological condition but of course it also has it’s negative value when it turns the other way.
“When a pregnant woman keeps bleeding and already malnourished or anaemic, it leads to her death. This training of frontline healthcare workers will enable them go back to their communities to educate our women on breastfeeding which is very good for the child and also for her own as the mother to eat well and keep her environment and the whole family clean.
“Expenses are high now, if you allow a child to be sick before coming to the hospital, its not going to be funny to the fathers. This training is for both the mothers, fathers the community at large”, Dr Maryam emphasized.
Adamu Bello, a PHC facility manager in Dukku LGA and Ruth Solomon who works in Deba PHC, Yamaltu-Deba LGA, both spoke about their expectations and commitment after the training.
They both agreed that there is so much to take home even at the commencement of the training because of the new ideas that were introduced to them in handling clients and how to give technical counselling for them to understand without being judgemental in passing information.
They expressed commitment to change and to improve in the discharge of their duties promising to cascade the training to their colleagues to ensure that MIYCN is improved in their communities.
