CASCADE Establishes Nutrition Corners, Facility Gardens, Trains Over 100 Pregnant Women in Bauchi, Alkaleri PHCs
By Abbas Usman, Bauchi
Catalyzing Strengthened Policy Action for Healthy Diets and Resilience (CASCADE), on Thursday, says it has established nutrition corners and facility gardens in 10 Local Government Areas of Bauchi state, capturing 50 Women in each of the LGAs.
This was disclosed to journalists by the organization’s Health and Nutrition Technical Officer DEC Project Bauchi, Anna Ishaiku, shortly after presenting demonstration facilities to Health and Nutrition focal persons in Inkil Primary Healthcare Centre, Bauchi and Gokaru Primary Healthcare Centre in Alkaleri Local Government Areas, on Wednesday.
Anna said the facilities were being established in 10 Local Government Areas of Misau, Zaki, Warji, Katagum, Jama’are, Ningi, Toro, Dass, Bauchi and Alkaleri.
Anna Ishaiku
She explained that the aims of establishing the facilities was to reduce maternal and child malnutrition across the CASCADE implementing states.
According to her, the nutrition corners provided a designated space for counseling, food demonstration and prevention of malnutrition.
She added that the gesture was also to ensure increase access to and consumption of healthy diets by pregnant and lactating patients in the selected health facilities.
The Nutrition Officer said that the project, which witnessed demonstrations of how to plant, cook and have access to some nutritious food at the PHCs, was to encourage the women to plant them at their homes for constant consumption.
“The Gboma Sika increases blood production and you won’t need blood transfusion while consuming it because you have enough blood in your system due the rich source of iron.
“The purpose of these cooking demonstrations is to teach and educate the women on how to prepare nutritious meals because we have these foods in our environment but how to cook them well is the main challenge,” she explained.
She further informed that the health workers at the benefiting facilities would continue teaching women how to cook the as demonstrated when they go for antenatal counseling and could also pluck from the ones planted to give them to go and prepare at home.
Anna finally advised the target participants to fill their plate with healthy local foods, like vegetables, okra, tomatoes and leafy greens because it provides body vitamins and minerals for strength and good health.
Mallam Adamu Sulaiman incharge of PHC inkil, lectured the 50 targeted Pregnant Women on the importance of early and regular ANC visits which helps them receive timely nutrition counseling, essential supplements and quality care supporting healthier mothers and babies.
In Gokaru, the Nutrition Focal Person of Alkaleri LGA, Abubakar Ahmed, commended CASCADE for bringing the program to Alkaleri, adding that it would help the community, mothers and children as it relates to their health.
He called on the benefiting women to make proper use of what they were taught for onward training of those that are not here as they back to their various communities, it will help to improve their health, the growth of their children and the development of their brains,” he said.
Fatima Abdullahi and Usaina Salihu, pregnant and lactating mothers who spoke to our Correspondent at the two health facilities commended CASCADE, for enlightening and educating them on the new advanced cooking habit that takes less time to prepare palatable okro and vegetable soup with out adding water as they use to do before today.
They promised to continue with the new development, extend and share experience of the balanced nutrition messages with other women in their communities for healthy pregnancy and babies.
