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Tag: Zakari Adam

  • Make child protection a priority, UNICEF tells parents, guardians

    The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), has advised parents and guardians against violating the rights of children in the interest of peace and national development.

    Dr Zakari Adam, the Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Kaduna, gave the advice on Friday in Keffi, Nasarawa State in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria.

    Adam, who spoke to NAN at the end of the three-day capacity building for 30 participants (UNICEF partners) on Result- Based Management (RBM), said that parents and government must also prioritise children protection.

    The training was organised by UNICEF in collaboration with the National Orientation of Agency (NOA) in Niger state and partners from Nasarawa.

    He said:”Parents and government at all levels should protect the rights of the children and citizens for societal development.

    “The rights are their entitlements. Children are human beings and they are also entitled to these rights and they have to enjoy their rights.

    “We should protect, respect and promote the rights of children in order to improve on their health and their standard of living.

    “UNICEF is doing its best to ensure that a child or children enjoy their rights.

    According to him, the aim of UNICEF is to achieve positive result for women and children through access to health facilities, good nutrition, education and other relevant social services required for their development.

    He said that the aim of the training was to equip participants with skills to enable them achieve results places of their primary assignment in tackling the plight of women and children.

    “The aim of the training is also to equip the participants with skills on how to apply result-based management into planning and reporting the programme implementation.

    “It is all about the fact that what we should report should be result-focused.“

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    “We are here working together for years now, particularly to ensure that our partners working in various ministries, related to children rights, are trained and their capacities raised in terms of human rights based approach programming,” he said.

    Adam said that UNICEF was also committed toward addressing challenges facing women and children in Nigeria to improve their health status and standard of living, hence the need for the training.

    He urged parents to ensure that children were protected and not put under unnecessary violence, stressing that children were sent to school rather than being out of school.

    NAN reports that participants from Nasarawa and Niger, drawn from different ministries in the two states, attended the training. which also include Mr Rabiu Musa, Communication Officer of UNICEF, Kaduna.

  • UNICEF counsels mothers on exclusive breast feeding

    The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has advised mothers in Nasarawa State and Nigeria at large to embrace exclusive breast feeding, in the interest of the health of their new born babies.

    Ms Chinwe Ezeife, Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF Kaduna Field office, gave the advice on Friday when members of the organisation were on assessment tour to one of its service centres in Keffi.

    She said that exclusive breast feeding was good for the health of new born babies, hence the need for mothers to feed their children exclusively for six months of life.

    “We are encouraging mothers to embrace exclusive breast feeding. One hour after the birth or delivery, mothers should put their babies to breast feeding.

    `She should feed the child exclusively for six months of life.

    “After that, the mother will introduce other complementary foods because after six months, only breast milk cannot satisfy the nutrient requirement of the child,” she said.

    Ezeife also called for collective efforts to address the challenges of malnutrition in the country.

    “My call on the parents, especially the mothers and fathers is for them to join hands to ensure that the child is given exclusive breast feeding.

    “We know that mothers own the breast, it is also left for the fathers to do their part, to be supportive in terms of providing the necessary needs required by the mother.

    “This is necessary so that the child can be breast feed well,” the nutritionist said.

    She restated the commitment of the UNICEF to continue to key into good projects and policies that had direct bearing on the nutritional need of the children in order to improve on their standard of living.

    Also speaking, Dr Zakari Adam, the Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Kaduna, said that the tour was for him to see things, with the view of addressing any challenge, if any.

    He expressed happiness with the commitment of health workers and other community volunteers of the centres toward tackling the challenges among malnourished children and urged them to sustain the tempo.

    According to him, the Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), provided by the UNICEF are given to children free of charge.

    While thanking UNICEF, Mr Ibrahim Gambo, the Director, Primary Health Care, Keffi Local Government Area said 146 malnourished children had been treated and cured of malnutrition in the area.

    According to him, the achievement is possible because of the support received from UNICEF toward addressing the challenges associated with malnourished children.

    He said that the provision of RUTF, provided by the UNICEF and given to children free of charge, had impacted positively on their lives.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Rabiu Musa, the Communication Officer of UNICEF, Kaduna was part of the assessment team.

    RUTF is funded by Children International Foundation Fund.

  • UNICEF calls for increase in stakeholders commitment to issues affecting children

    The United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) has called for increased commitment of stakeholders in Niger, including families and communities, to issues affecting children.

    Dr Zakari Adam, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF, Kaduna, said on Wednesday in Minna during mid-year review meeting on UNICEF activities in Niger, that such commitment was necessary to ensure healthy development of children in the state.

    “We are calling on stakeholders to improve their commitment especially at family, community levels.

    “We need their support and commitment in areas we are having challenges such as understanding the population of the state and halting traditional practice by families towards children.

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    “A situation where children who are supposed to be in school are roaming the street begging because most parents refused to enroll them in school due to some traditional belief or practice, should be discouraged ,” he said.

    Adams appealed to Niger government to treat children issues using its domestic resources before seeking for external support.

    “The international environment is not favourable in terms of fund mobilisation for UNICEF, this is why we need the cooperation of government and relevant stakeholders in the state ” he added.

    The official urged the media to back up UNICEF efforts by providing necessary information to change the perspectives of families and parents concerning children.

    The objective of the meeting was to review the progress made in the implementation of  2018 work plan, and agree on priority activities in the next six months.

    It will also review the implementation of plans on early child enrollment, routine immunisation, child feeding and hygiene and prevention of violence against children.

    NAN

  • UNICEF, CIFF to support treatment of 279,542 malnourished children

    The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Children Investment Foundation Fund (CIFF) on Monday pledged to support the Kaduna State Government to treat no fewer than 279,542  malnourished children in the state.

    UNICEF’s Chief of Nutrition, Simeon Nanama, made the pledge during an assessment visit to a Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) site at the Primary Health Care Centre at  Jaji, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

    Nanama noted that SAM children are 12 times likely to die than healthy children if not treated.

    He stressed the need for increased intervention with focus on treatment of affected children to save them from avoidable deaths.

    The UNICEF official  said CIIF, a UK-based philanthropic organisation, collaborates with other organisations around the world to improve the survival of children.

    He said that UNICEF, in collaboration with CIFF, was  working in Nigeria to increase SAM health facilities for the treatment of affected children.

    “Our goal is to ensure that treatment is available for majority of children affected by the disease, maintain high quality of treatment and ensure ownership and investment by local government areas in the programme, “Nanama said.

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    UNICEF Nutrition Specialist in  Kaduna, Chinwe Ezeife, said that the number of children affected by SAM had increased from 271,400 in 2017 to 279,542 as at the end of April.

    The Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Kaduna, Dr Zakari Adam, commended the state’s commitment over the years in implementing nutrition policies and interventions.

    “I particularly commend Kaduna State for mobilising domestic resources for financing nutrition interventions,  especially procurement of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) used for the treatment of SAM.

    “CIFF has  been working in collaboration with UNICEF to scale up access to SAM treatment in Nigeria since 2014, and had so far spent about 60 million U.S dollars,” Adam said.

    He  urged the government to increase funding level to make RUTF available to sustain Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) service, adding that partners funding alone cannot sustain the programme.

    Hajiya Ummi El-Rufa’I, the wife of the Kaduna State Governor and Chairperson, Kaduna State Emergency Nutrition Action Plan (KADENAP), thanked UNICEF and CIFF for the support.

    She said that 28 SAM treatment facilities are available in five LGAs, while 18 LGAs, representing 78 per cent of 23 the LGAs in the state are still without treatment facilities.

    According to her, about 17,981 malnourished children were admitted in the facilities with 80 per cent of them successfully cured using RUTF.

    She added that N750 million was spent between 2016 and 2017 to treat affected children.

    After the assessment visit, the team paid a courtesy call on Gov. Nasir El-Rufa’I at Government House where it solicited for the release of more funds to fight the dreaded disease.

    The leader of CIFF team, Mr Jonathan Oates, said his team was impressed with what was going on at the treatment centres and the turnout to access services.

    Oates pledged to support the state government’s efforts with 100 percent of the sum government releases for nutrition intervention.

    Responding, El-Rufa’I acknowledged that the crisis of malnutrition still persisted in the state in spite of efforts and progress recorded so far recorded.

    He assured UNICEF and CIFF of his determination to do the needful in addressing the menace, particularly in the area of funding.

    NAN