Community shares impact of UNICEF initiative in Taraba
By Christiana Babayo
Residents of Lau Local Government Area of Taraba State have shared the impacts of the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), initiative, “Mama to Mama” in the lives of women and children in the community.
The Mama to Mama is an initiative supported by GAVI with the aim of reducing maternal mortality and improving health among women and children.
At the Lau Local Government Area, the Mama-to-Mama group who spoke to our reporters confessed that the initiative has brought about change in the community especially among women and children who are the major targets of the initiative.
Nafisa Nuhu said “Before I knew about Mama-to-Mama, I was sick for almost a year and couldn’t walk. I was taking herbs but when the Mama-to- Mama team came and spoke to us, I went to the hospital on the advice and I received treatments, tests and medication and after a few months I got better and now I am on my feet again. So I appreciate them for their efforts and may God help them to do more”.
Another resident, Ahmed Mohammed said he is aware of the work the Mama-to-Mama team has been doing in their locality regarding women and child health, stressing that their contributions have helped them greatly health wise.
The volunteers in the Mama-to-Mama team were also drawn from the communities with the hope that because they are part of the people, they can relate better with them.
Rakiya Garba, a 72 year midwife for about 50 years said she has witnessed changes that were not there before during her 50 years in the practice, stressing that during their time, technology has not advanced and people always turned to herbs for medication.
According to Rukkaiya, Woman leader Mama-to-Mama Lau A ward
“Mama2Mama is an initiative that enlightens the people on the importance of going to hospital and getting regular check ups especially for pregnant women and children. We have been able to talk to our people here and convinced them on the need to go the hospitals and also get vaccinations in the case of children.
“Our doctors at the primary healthcare facility have been of great help because they have allowed the people to get treatment even if they don’t have money. From the time we began this advocacy to now, we have so many women flooding the hospital for routine checks and antenatal and it is because of the Mama2Mama project.
Many others who spoke, all agreed that the initiative by has changed their mentality about maternal and child health and not only has it shaped their mentality but it has also improved their well-being.
However, some of the residents appealed to the state Government to come in and assist the team in the areas of funding so that it will increase their capacity to even cover more grounds, stating that the issues of health are not to be taken lightly.
Meanwhile, during a briefing with journalists earlier, Ms Jennifer Dabo, the UNICEF Social Behaviour Team Lead in Taraba State, and Mrs Christiana Habila Habu, Assistant State health educator for advocacy and health promotion, Taraba state primary health care development agency, explained that the Mama to Mama initiative by UNICEF was to identify and sensitize women on health matters.
They explained that Mama-to-Mama has 5,040 members in Taraba, with 30 members per ward and three groups with not less than ten members each.
