The Rotary Action Group for Reproductive Maternal and Child Health said that it had trained over 317 health professionals from 26 local governments in Lagos, Oyo, and Ogun states as part of its preparedness for the “Little Steps-Big Help” project, a community outreach and sensitization programme to tackle malaria and malnutrition among pregnant women and under-5 year-old children.
Past Rotary district governor, Adeniji Raji, speaking at the opening of the fourth cohort of health workers training from Orire, Egbeda, and Iseyin local government councils, stated that the trained health workers were to spearhead the community outreaches, with the support of 160 other officers in charge and community health workers, to start in June.
“Our plan is to undertake 5940 outreaches starting in June 2024 and ending in May 2026 to create awareness in the communities in which the project will be intervening. We believed that, having been equipped, they would be prepared to do the job. Our intervention will be motivational, not supervisory.”
“We are also going to do food demonstrations because we have a lot of malnourished children; so, we will support Oyo, Lagos, and Ogun States with funds to prepare such foods with adequate micronutrients to meet the needs of their children from easily available food items in their environment.”
Past Rotary district governor Raji said malaria remains a foremost public health problem that is taking its greatest toll on children under the age of five and pregnant women, especially in rural areas.
Mr Adedotun Amori, chairman of the “Little Steps-Big Help” project in Oyo State, said the local governments involved in the intervention were chosen based on particular needs and parameters like the number of pregnant women as well as the malaria and malnutrition prevalence rates.
“Our ultimate goal is to significantly reduce maternal death and morbidity and to tackle malnutrition among pregnant women and underfive children. We want the total wellbeing of women and children.”
Earlier, Dr Ayodeji Adebayo, a public health physician and facilitator for the training, said the thrust of the training was to be able to integrate malaria and malnutrition prevention and control.
“There is a bidirectional relationship between malaria and malnutrition. Just as undernutrition can precipitate the worsening effect of malaria, similarly, malaria also serves as a disease that can be brought about by undernutrition. Both of them can cause death, either on their own or together.
“Even though malaria affects every woman, pregnant women and under-5s are more vulnerable; they are more at risk.”
Mrs. Jokotade Babalola, the representative of the Executive Secretary of the Oyo State Primary Health Care Board, Dr Muideen Olatunji, while commending Rotary International’s intervention in tackling malaria and malnutrition, promised the support and commitment of the government to the project’s success.
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