By: Monday Danladi, Bauchi
Bauchi State Government in collaboration with donor agencies has launched the scale up of multiple micronutrient supplement with the aim of improving pregnancy outcomes in state.
The lifesaving initiative is generously funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and implemented by UNICEF in partnership with the Government of Nigeria and the Bauchi state government.
Speaking at occasion held in Bauchi on Tuesday, Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Philomena Irene stressed that, “This initiative is expected to strengthen the ante-natal platforms to deliver high impact maternal nutrition interventions in Bauchi state.”
According to her, “NDHIS 2018 show that only 23 percent of the 381,364 pregnant women in Bauchi state receives iron and folic acid supplementation, which is crucial in reducing the risk of low birth weight, maternal anaemia, and iron deficiency.”
She explained that, “Under this scale-up, Bauchi state has received 134,280 bottles of MMS. More will be supplied as the project implementation progresses.”
Philomena Irene added that, “This initiative will also strengthen the capacity of health workers to effectively
forecast and update MMS administration to pregnant women in Bauchi state on the Logistics Health Management Information system (LHIMS) and DHIS 2 platforms.”
The Nutrition Specialist added that,”The scale up of MMS for pregnant women aligns with the Nigerian government’s plan to reduce anemia among pregnant women to 40 per cent by 2025.”
She further stated that, “It also feeds into the SDG 2030 goal of reducing anemia among pregnant women by 50 percent by 2030.”
According to her, “For this innovation to be sustained, UNICEF will work with the Bauchi State Government to ensure MMS is included in the annual state procurement Plan and that funds are released through the Child Nutrition Fund for the procurement of MMS.”
“On its part, UNICEF will continue to support Bauchi state government to mitigate the effects of anaemia in pregnancy and scale up MMS to all pregnant women,” She assured.
