By Philip Yatai

The Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board (SPHCB) is working with Alive and Thrive (A&T), a global nutrition initiative to improve optimal Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MICYN) practices.

The board’s Director, Family and Community Health Services, Dr Neyu Iliyasu made this known during a three-day train-the-trainers MICYN, supported by A&T under its Accelerating the Scale of MICYN project.

Iliyasu described MICYN as a “critical strategy” to prevent malnutrition among mothers, infants, and young children in the state, towards building a healthy and productive population.

He said that the trained health workers, who would be expected to train others, would help in educating parents and caregivers on optimal MICYN practices.

He said that the training, supported by A & T, would equip the health workers with capacity to effectively counsel mothers on MICYN practices for the overall wellbeing of the mother and the child.

According to him, optimal MICYN practices will significantly improve the nutrition indices of women and children in the state.

“This is the first batch of trainees from Kaduna South Local Government Area of the state. Others from other local government areas will be trained in due course.

“This will help significantly in improving the livelihood of women and children through improved access to quality maternal, infant and young child nutrition services.”

Also speaking, Mrs Pauline Ideva, the Executive Secretary of Carelink Resource Foundation, who equally commended A & T for improving health workers’ knowledge and capacity on MICYN.

Ideva promised CRF would work with Primary Health Care centres in communities to promote MICYN with a view to eradicate stunting, wasting and anaemia among mothers, adolescent mothers, and children in communities.

The Zonal Coordinator of Alive and Thrive, Mrs Sarah Kwasu shad explained at the opening of a three-day training in Kaduna that the training was under A&T Accelerating the Scale of MICYN project.

Kwasu explained that the ToT practical skills, based on MICYN training module, was earlier conducted for Team Leads of the seven implementing states.  

She said that the training forms a core component of A & T capacity building project.

She said that the A & T Team in Kaduna was stepping down the training to selected health workers in various health facilities in six implementing LGAs.

The zonal coordinator identified the LGAS as Kaduna South, Chikun, Kudan, Makarfi, Kachia and Kagarko across the three senatorial districts.

She said that a health facility assessment has been conducted across 86 health facilities in the six LGA, adding that two health workers each from the 86 facilities would be trained.  (NAN)