NGO supports IDPs in Gombe State
The Rural Health Mission, an NGO, has supported Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at Kagarawal Community in Gombe State with over 10,000 doses of drugs.
Malam Mohammed Adamu, the state Programme Officer of the mission, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe on Wednesday that the activities were executed from 2016 to 2021.
Adamu said the drugs distributed included Vitamin A supplement, Albendazole (Anti worms) and anti-malaria.
He said the place was targeted following the large number of IDPs in the area and their inability to access medical healthcare.
He said following the World Health Organisation (WHO) standard of ensuring clean delivery, the mission distributed birth kits to support clean and safe facility deliveries in various communities across the state.
Also under the Lifesaving Intervention Project, the organisation enrolled pregnant women who received full doses of free prenatal medication support to ensure a healthy and safe pregnancy.
According to him, each of these pregnant women is being supported by home health volunteers who conduct pre-and postnatal home visits on them to ensure that they are healthy and in good condition throughout pregnancy and after childbirth.
The programme manager said in order to enhance universal health coverage, the organisation hosted the first and largest advocacy platform for policymakers and civil society organisations in the state.
“And the advocacy was an engagement and dialogue with the view of identifying areas of collaboration and partnership to advance universal health coverage,” he said.
He further said they trained women in six communities on how to prepare a highly nutritious diet for their children by using the available crops in their localities.
He said the purpose was to complement Gombe State Government’s effort in combating malnutrition.
Adamu said the mission also engaged stakeholders who brainstormed on the health challenges in the country towards finding workable and sustainable solutions.
He said they also provided locally made handwashing machines and distributed fliers to 114 Primary Health Care Facilities in the state as preventive measures to COVID-19. (NAN)
