A non-governmental organisation, Catalysing Strengthened Policy Action for Healthy Diets and Resilience (CASCADE), has established nutrition corners and facility gardens in 10 local government areas of Bauchi State to address maternal and child malnutrition.
The Health and Nutrition Technical Officer of the CASCADE project in Bauchi, Mrs Anna Ishaiku, disclosed this on Thursday during the handover of the facilities to Inkil Primary Healthcare Centre in Bauchi and Gokaru Primary Healthcare Centre in Alkaleri Local Government Area.
She said the intervention is being implemented in Bauchi, Alkaleri, Misau, Zaki, Warji, Katagum, Jama’are, Ningi, Toro and Dass LGAs.
According to Ishaiku, the initiative is aimed at reducing malnutrition among women and children by creating dedicated spaces within primary healthcare centres for nutrition counselling, food demonstrations and education.
“The activation of these nutrition corners provides designated spaces for counselling, food demonstrations and prevention of malnutrition,” she said.
She explained that the establishment of facility gardens alongside the nutrition corners would help increase access to and consumption of healthy diets, particularly among pregnant and lactating women.
Ishaiku added that women participating in the programme were taught how to plant and prepare nutritious foods, with encouragement to replicate the practices in their homes.
“All the seeds provided for the demonstrations, including Gboma Sika, tomato and okro, are improved varieties and not genetically modified,” she said, noting that Gboma Sika is rich in iron and supports blood production.
She observed that while many households have access to nutritious foods, inadequate knowledge of proper preparation methods remains a major challenge. She added that health workers would continue to educate women during antenatal visits and provide food samples from the facility gardens.
Also speaking, the Nutrition Focal Person of Alkaleri LGA, Mr Abubakar Ahmed, commended CASCADE for the intervention, describing it as timely and impactful.
He said effective application of the lessons learned by women would improve maternal health, child growth and cognitive development within the communities.
The initiative forms part of broader efforts by CASCADE to strengthen nutrition outcomes and resilience among vulnerable populations in Bauchi State.
