A non governmental organisation (NGO), Society for Women Development in Nigeria (SWODEN), has trained 100 male motivators in Kebbi on behavioural change to curb high rate of women and infant mortality and malnutrition.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the sensitisation training held in Birnin Kebbi was organised in collaboration with Association of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (ASWHAN), Kebbi chapter.
NAN also reports that the project is equally funded by Nutrition International.
Speaking in an interview on the sideline of the programme, Mrs Esther Hindi, SWODEN focal person, said the programme was all about behavioural change intervention for gender mainstreaming and nutrition intervention in the state.
She recalled that over the years, the state had incidences of malnutrition among the children under five years and pregnant women, adding that the NGO was creating awareness as well as demands in the community.
The focal person said they were currently working on five Local Government Areas of Gwadu, Argungu, Augie, Maiyama and Bunza towards reducing the menace.
Hindi said: “We are creating demands and creating awareness in the community on ANC uptake, hospital delivery, the need for women to attend antenatal care, so that they can enjoy services like nutrition information and what to eat when they are pregnant.
“Others are, the need for exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of birth and when children are given birth to, nutrition provision should be adequate for healthy living, so that they can grow the way they are supposed to.
“So, what we are doing today is training male motivators, we call them male motivators because they are the male we identified, such as community leaders, religious leaders and household leaders.
“These are men that have shown examples of taking care of their families and also supporting the community in creating awareness demands and other interventions.”
She said about 100 men from the five LGs were trained and empowered on how to go back and disseminate the information to other men in their respective communities to support their wives to attend antenatal, ensure hospital delivery and other services.
On her part, Hajiya Hadiza Sani, acting Director, Women Affairs, Kebbi Ministry for Women Affairs, stressed the need for men to take good care of their wives.
She encouraged the men to support their wives to enjoy hospital services during pregnancy and be accompanying them to hospital for antenatal care so as to see for themselves what’s happening in the hospital.
The director attributed most of the problems faced by women to inability of their husbands to follow their wives to the hospital.
Speaking to one of the participants, Alhaji Sa’idu Abdullahi-Burma, Ward Development Community (WDC) from Argungu Local Government Area promised to cascade what they have learnt to their respective communities.
He described the sensitisation as a veritable platform that would not only minimise infant and women mortality and malnutrition but if adequately sustained it would eradicate the menace.
“We were sensitised on different aspects of how to enhance the health of a woman, especially when she is pregnant. This has to do with pre-natal, antenatal and post-natal care.
“The need for husbands to encourage and support their wives to go to hospital during pregnancy, delivery at hospital and care of children after birth.
“This, we are going to propagate to other men in our respective communities so that together we can eradicate maternal mortality out of Nigeria,” he said. (NAN)
