Malnutrition: Foundation donates equipment to Lagos, Abuja health facilities

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa and FHI360 Alive and Thrive Team have donated specialist transition equipment and state-of-the-art breastfeeding simulators to aid the education of mothers on proper breastfeeding to Lagos and Kaduna health care facilities.

The foundation through its Alive and Thrive Infant and Young Child Feeding programme has also reached over 200,000 antenatal care attendees, 120,000 mothers of children less than 2 years and 15,000 family members with an increased counseling content of facility healthcare workers in Infant and Young Child Feeding.

Toyin Ojora Saraki, WBFA Founder-President, said the foundation is committed to promoting early initiation to breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months, and proper complementary feeding for children after the first six months.

“We have engaged more midwives across our various facilities in Lagos, Kwara, Kaduna, Osun States and Abuja, to support in-facility healthcare workers to promote maternal and infant nutrition

“I am encouraged by the milestones we have achieved. As we conclude this impactful multi-year program, it is important that our upskilled healthworkers, inter-personal community interlocutors and coaches are empowered and engendered to build on the program’s success, independently and sustainably – this has guided our donation of state of the art equipment so that our breastfeeding guardians may accelerate nutrition results for every newly delivered mother and her newborn, till 5 years of age.

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa is committed to improving knowledge and rates of breastfeeding for better health outcomes for women and their families in Nigeria,” she said in Abuja.

According to initial available data, malnutrition accounts for more than 50 percent of “under-five” mortality in the state. Infant Mortality rate is at 103 per 1000 live births (NDHS 2013), while under-5 mortality rates are at 169 per 1000 live births (NDHS 2013).

Within the State, 11.7 percent of children are wasted from acute under nutrition, 47 percent of children under-5 years are stunted, while 34 percentare under weight (MICs 2017).