By: Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse
A joint team from UNICEF Nigeria and the UNICEF Kano Field Office has paid a two-day field visit to MASAKI Sites and some CRIBs II projects projects across Jigawa State.
Speaking at a backyard garden owned by Bahijja Muhammad in Shafar community, Ringim Local Government Area, the Chief of Field Operations and Emergency, UNICEF Nigeria, Judith Leveillee, described MASAKI as the best nutrition approach because it is community-owned and utilises locally available nutritious foods.
She said the Jigawa State Government, in collaboration with UNICEF, is supporting pregnant women and lactating mothers with seedlings and livestock to improve nutrition at the community level.
"I am happy meeting children, lactating mothers and families who received seedlings of okra, spinach, tomatoes and livestock aimed at providing adequate protein on a daily basis,” she said.
Leveillee reaffirmed UNICEF’s commitment to supporting children, particularly during the first 1,000 days of life, which she described as the most crucial period in a child’s development.
"I love the MASAKI programme. It is a golden opportunity in the first 1,000 days of children’s life, it is where action needs to taken to make sure children have the best start in life,” she said.
She called for the expansion of the MASAKI Sites programme from the three pilot Local Government Areas of Ringim, Dutse, and Kafin-Hausa to all 27 LGAs in the state to give more women and children access to nutrition services.
"A lot can happen through this platform, with more attention to sanitation, education and early-age stimulation and development, as well as antenatal and postnatal care to make sure women and children have access to health and nutrition services,” she added.
During the visit, the team witnessed the distribution of 1,200 livestock to pregnant women and lactating mothers in Ringim LGA, flagged off by the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Hadiza Abdulwahab.
In his remarks, the State Nutrition Officer said the MASAKI Nutrition Initiative was designed to reach families before malnutrition becomes life-threatening.
He explained that using routine health data, the state identified communities with the highest burden of malnutrition and established 300 MASAKI centres across all 30 constituencies.
According to him, each centre serves as a weekly meeting point where mothers and caregivers learn to screen children, prepare nutritious meals from locally available foods, and monitor their progress. Children with moderate malnutrition are managed within the community, while severe cases are immediately referred for advanced care.
He added that the MASAKI programme is owned by women at the community level, who have been empowered to feed their children better using foods available within their surroundings.(People's post.com)
