Tag: NGO

A Non Governmental Organization, Civil Society-Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria, CS-SUNN, has advocated for deduction of 1% of the annual budget of states and local government councils for social protection programmes and nutrition in particular.

The association in a statement urged states through the State Assemblies to explore the possibility of getting 1% of LG funds deducted at source to fund Nutrition Activities at the local government levels.

The call was contained in a Communique issued at the end of a legislative retreat on adequate funding for health and nutrition for focal states of Kaduna, Kano, Nasarawa, Niger and Lagos held in Uyo last weekend.

The Communique endorsed by Chairman, Mr Nehemiah Tsentse of Nasarawa state and representatives of the other four states resolved that the challenges of ensuring early budget releases should be tabled through the Nutrition Unit of the Nigerian Governors Forum to the state governors in forum.

It said that the same presentation and outcome from the NGF should also be tabled before the National Economic Council and the Conference of Speakers through the Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly.

The meeting observed that nutrition budget and funding remained inadequate in all the focal states and called for strengthening of SCFN to ensure proper coordination of nutrition activities and good planning.

“Husbands also have a critical role  to play in supporting their breastfeeding wives while there is need for Nigeria to consider setting up a company to produce RUTF given the huge investment made in the last five years for the purchase of the commodity.” It said.

The purpose of the retreat attended by 56 participants and chaired by the Speaker of the Niger State Assembly included amongst others to promote understanding of current nutrition situation in Nigeria and the need for prompt action and ascertain the level of nutrition investment and performance in states.

It was also to secure the committment of state Assembly members to commit to improved domestic investment in high impact, low cost interventions as captured in the state specific plans of actions in the 2020 annual budgets and enlist key lawmakers as champions for timely releases of allocated funds.

The two day retreat was organised by CS-SUNN in collaboration with Save the Children,SCI, Alive and Thrive,  A&T, for Chairmen of key Committees of State Assemblies, relevant policymakers and key state officials to interact on how best nutrition funding challenges could be addressed and extract commitment for timely releases of allocated funds in the 2020 budget and adequate provision in the 2021 budget.

By Gabriel Udeh Kaduna

Center for Media Advocacy for Mother and Child (CAMAC), has donated “Menstrual Emergency Kits” to Braintrust College, Kurmin Mashi, Kaduna, as part of her “Period Friendly” facility campaign for public places in Nigeria.
CAMAC made the donation on Thursday, at a sensitization campaign to mark the Global World Toilet Day which is commemorated every 19th November, with the theme: “sustainable sanitation and climate change”.

Menstrual emergency kits box are menstrual period kits box that provides everything women of menstrual age need to go with the flow, even if it happens at public places such as school, work, market, motor park, worship centre, the gym, etc. While stressing that period friendly facility are those facilities where women are comfortable to use during their monthly menstrual period, items donated by CAMAC include Menstrual Emergency Box, Sanitary Pads, Painkiller Drugs, Waste Bin, Detergents and Disinfectants. CAMAC, had launched the campaign on 15th October, at Kantin Kwari Market and Motor Park in Kaduna, where it also donated some hand washing materials such as soaps, bucket, dustbin, detergent and disinfectant for the use of travelling and market women and girls.
CAMAC is a media advocacy group that focus on advocating for policies and programmes that favour vulnerable women, adolescent girls and children in areas of education, health, child’s rights, protection, development and survival, while also drawing the attention of government and other stakeholders to their plight, with the view to finding lasting solutions to their problem. “It as well create awareness and sensitises the public on the above areas”, he stated..
Addressing female students and management of the college, Executive Director of CAMAC, Alex Uangbaoje noted that women and young girls can only be comfortable in public places during their monthly menstrual period if the facilities are suitable for use and the required sanitary materials are available.
He emphasized on the need for both government and private school owners not to only build toilets, but to also make them “PERIOD friendly”  for the sake of the girls.
Mr Alex urged the girls to always ensure it maintained personal hygiene before, during and after their menstrual period.
“We are here today to first and foremost; sensitize you on the importance of your menstrual hygiene, and secondly on how to maintain a good and hygiene friendly environment especially toilet favourable to your healthy living.
“As young girls, always ensure you don’t use unclean items as pad during your menstrual period where sanitary pads are not available, instead use clean items and dispose them properly to avoid infectious diseases.
“You need to wash and keep your toilets clean because of the sensitivity of your bodies, most importantly use disinfectant, especially public toilets. And don’t do open defecation otherwise, you will be causing pollution to your environment and it’s unhygienic for young girls like you.
“So as CAMAC, we are here to help you understand how important it is to keep your personal and menstrual hygiene and your environment and health will be come better.” He said.
The ED, who was represented by the Program Officer, Christie Alex, admonished the girls to become advocates for cleanliness and hygiene in their school.
Responding, on behalf of the students, Asmahu Abdulahi, who is the Health Prefect in the school, complained that the toilets in the school are in bad shape as such students prefer to us open defecation.
She called on the school management to henceforth do something about the situation because the sensitization has open their eyes to now discover that the students are in real danger.
The guidance and Counselling Officer of the College, Mrs Ezekiel Joy, who appreciated CAMAC for selecting the in the midst of numerous schools in the state, after receiving the items, pledged the College’s commitment to ensuring the Emergency Kits Box is maintained and the toilet facility are upgraded to be more period friendly.
She said though the college would have done the upgrade long ago, but there were other challenges that has hindered it which would soon be addressed.
The Principal Mr Godwin Ogar, on his part confirmed the position of Asmau, that the toilets are in bad shape, but however blame that reason on the students who most times leave them unkept.
“Due to different background and upbringing of some of the students, who mostly are used to the pit toilets and open defecation they prefer the unusual method, by using stones instead of water to the extent that some female students put sanitary pads inside the toilet as a method of disposing them and that is causing the school a lot of money to maintain the toilet.
“But thank you for your concern and the sensitization, we are hopeful that going forward they will be doing the right things.” Mr Ogar, added.
He commended CAMAC for the gesture, promising that, he will make sure the students abide by what they are taught.
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By Jabiru A Hassan, Kano.

Non-governmental organisations have been called upon to executes projects that benefits the people of all categories at both rural and urban areas which is a task that are known from every voluntary organisation.

This was disclosed by Dr. Ambassador A’isha Ahmed founder and chairperson of “Return To School Initiative”, in a chat with our correspondent in kano, adding that NGO’s are known for dedication and zeal in assisting the people as a voluntary organisations for the betterment of the livelihood.

She disclosed that ” we are an NGO’s getting ready to commence activities on education by returning out of school kids to acquire Islamic and western education because we noticed that there are thousands of kids wandering in the streets without going go school despite the government’s efforts towards educating young ones”. She said.

Hajiya A’isha Ahmed announced that “Return To School Initiative” was established to ensure that younger generations gets quality education that is required by everybody so as to achieve good livelihood and self-reliance especially at present when government alone cannot cover everything due to the high number of demands.

She assured that her organisation would work selflessly for the success of it’s projects and called on parents and guardians to give more supports to the NGO in order to achieve the desired objectives with optimum results, where she opined that the NGO would certainly contribute towards the development of education in kano state and Northern Nigeria at large.