Niger trains frontline health workers

The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, in collaboration with the Ministry of Primary Health Care, Niger State, has held a week-long training for 240 frontline health workers on Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) with the theme: Adequate Nutrition.

The training was held in the Bida Local Government Area of the state.

Speaking to The Guardian shortly after the flag-off of the training, the Niger State Nutrition Officer and Secretary of the State Committee for Food and Nutrition, Asmau Mohammed, noted that the training for trainers, referred to as TOT, had been previously held. She added that training sessions were also organised for secondary health facility workers.

Asmau said, “A lot of training has been held on the need to improve our database, pointing out that over the years, the database has been under threat. However, we ensure that in recent times, our data is fully documented for decision-making and other activities related to nutrition. Through the data, we were able to determine the number of people to be trained and the number of beneficiaries to reach.

“I expect that after the training, the participants will return to their various facilities and scale down the training, even in the form of on-the-job training. I also believe that a lot of nutrition activities will spring up at the local level, such as awareness and sensitization for the beneficiaries, and the result will be improved nutritional status for children under five and their mothers.”

She explained that 550 frontline health workers are expected to be trained across the three senatorial districts of the state, noting that the training would soon be extended to other parts of the state in no distant time.

Earlier, the Project Manager of Accelerated Nutrition in Nigeria (ARIN), Niger State, Shehu Mohammed Etsugaie, stated that the ARIN project, which began its activities in 2018, is expected to conclude on December 31, 2024.

He added that the agency has put measures in place to ensure sustainability, revealing that Emirs, District, and Village Heads were sensitized on the activities of ARIN.

Etsugaie added that health workers at the facility level have been trained on how to provide health interventions.

“We also have community volunteers. Why we have them is that we want the community to take ownership of the programme, and the volunteers have been working for the past four years, providing basic healthcare interventions, especially nutrition interventions in the communities,” he said.

In an interview, a participant from Primary Health Care, Munya LGA, Ibrahim Ahmed, said the MIYCN training has enhanced his knowledge and promised to scale it down to the community.

Another participant from Primary Health Care, Wushishi Local Council, Kaka Adamu, described the training as an eye-opener for health workers, saying they learned a lot during the sessions and identified some of their past mistakes on the job.

Highlights of the training included advocacy visits to Federal Medical Centre, Bida; food demonstration practicals; visits to secondary health facilities for practical experiences, and signing of public commitments by stakeholders.

The project was funded by the World Bank through the ARIN project and supervised by the Niger State Ministry of Secondary and Tertiary Health, with support from the Niger State Ministry of Primary Health Care.