The Society for Family Health says it distributed no fewer than 4,255,558 nutritional supplements to 1.36 million women and children under five years old in 2023 to reduce the burden of malnutrition in Nigeria.
The organisation said this in its 2023 Annual Report made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Abuja.
SFH said this formed part of the non-governmental organisation’s activities for 2023.
The NGO said it also distributed 315,085 needles and syringes to key populations, 315,085 lubricants, 82,327 HIV self-testing kits, 2,349 COVID-19 rapid diagnostic test kits, and 1,958,149 water purifiers.
It also distributed 128,695 Family Planning commodities to 95,133 adolescent mothers, 6,143,277 pieces of condoms, 315,085 self-care kits for FP and malaria, and 5,952,248 insecticide-treated mosquito nets in 2023.
The organisation, which marked its 40th anniversary in Nigeria in 2023, said it also tested 342,016 people for Tuberculosis and placed 2,712 others on treatment for the disease, and screened 2,143 for Hepatitis.
It also screened 1,695,562 for HIV and placed 40,212 who tested positive on Antiretroviral Therapy.
The report said that in 2023, SFH supported community-level programming efforts in Nigeria.
The report said the NGO also demonstrated the potential success of such approaches in the areas of enhanced resources for health, differentiated service delivery approach, and use of community channels to disseminate information.
It also helped to increase demand for health services, linking communities to quality health, increasing resources for health, and supporting the distribution of key commodities.
“SFH worked with other partners to champion the Federal Ministry of Health review of Task Shifting Task Sharing policy to recognise Community Pharmacists and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors as important community healthcare providers.
“PPMVs are important sources of care for the poor. They are often the first point of call for FP, hygiene and child health services and products.
“SFH partnered with Pharmacy Council of Nigeria to pilot the implementation of Three Tier Accreditation System that categorises and regulates PPMVs based on their qualification in 11 states.”
It added that by December 2023, SFH trained 12,863 CPs and PPMVs and provided FP services to more than 350,000 families, as well as treatment of malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea and referrals for under five with cases of malnutrition for management.
On the organisation’s scorecard for the year, the Managing Director, Dr. Omokhudu Idogho, said SFH also implemented projects in Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
According to him, the organisation has achieved significant milestones, successfully implementing 24 projects across Africa directly benefitting 18.5 million people and indirectly impacting 50 million more.
He added that “notably, 21 of the projects have been extended to 2024. In highlighting the impactful outcomes of our efforts, we reached over 60 million persons with information, services and products, helping them to address their health needs.
“Additionally, we supported more than 2,312 Primary Healthcare Centres and remained a strong pillar in setting viable agenda for policy response and reforms.”
He said that the organisation’s approach of collaborating with government, private sector, and non-traditional health providers alongside regulatory bodies and commitment to the localisation agenda, had yielded significant progress.
“Our ability to leverage opportunities presented by donor funding, coupled with deep understanding of localisation agenda and the initiative of integrating government personnel as interlocutors, has facilitated fruitful collaborations with governmental agencies and other partners.
“It has ensured effective delivery of interventions. We have gained valuable lessons from working with community-level structures such as community pharmacies, PPMVs, Community Health Influencers, Promoters and Services, Traditional Birth Attendants and Community Based Organisations.
“The programme updates featured in this annual report serve as a testament to SFH’s adaptability, resilience, and ability to navigate unprecedented challenges,” he added.
According to him, SFH sees health as being beyond just the absence of diseases.
Going forward, he said, the organisation’s focus would involve pioneering new programmatic approaches, increasing investment in technology, data, and impact, exploring novel areas of intervention, and enhancing partnerships and programming.
The efforts were aimed at maintaining resilience and support to fulfill the organisation’s mandate, he said.
NAN
