The Benue State Primary Health Care Board, BNSPHCB, in partnership with UNICEF, has continued a three-day capacity-building workshop aimed at strengthening preventive nutrition services across the state.
The training was held at Makurdi, with Officers-in-Charge, Nutrition Focal Persons and Monitoring and Evaluation Officers from 12 implementing Local Government Areas participating.
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The workshop focuses on Small Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements, SQ-LNS, Multiple Micronutrient Supplements, MMS, and Mid-Upper Arm Circumference, MUAC, screening for malnutrition.
Facilitating a session on Multiple Micronutrient Supplements, Mrs Ada Ezeogu explained that MMS helps meet the increased nutritional requirements of pregnant women and supports healthy maternal outcomes as well as optimal fetal growth and development.
Mrs Ezeogu cautioned that MMS should not be administered to pregnant women with anaemia or sickle cell disease, stressing that such women require appropriate therapeutic care. She also advocated a healthy and diverse diet during pregnancy using locally available, nutrient-rich foods.
Dr Michael Aondoaseer of the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, BSUTH, Makurdi, trained participants on growth monitoring and promotion, emphasising the importance of regular weighing of babies to assess growth and detect growth faltering early.
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He also demonstrated the use of the child Mid-Upper Arm Circumference, MUAC, tape for screening malnutrition among children, explaining that the red, yellow and green zones indicate severe acute malnutrition, moderate acute malnutrition and adequate nutrition respectively.
Participants subsequently took part in practical demonstrations on how to obtain accurate MUAC measurements as part of efforts to strengthen their capacity to identify malnutrition among children.
The workshop also featured a session on counselling and behaviour change communication facilitated by Mr Daufa Deme of the Federal Ministry of Health.
Participants engaged in practical counselling exercises, role plays, group work and case studies, facilitated by Mr Benjamin Ugba, to strengthen their communication skills when engaging caregivers and communities on nutrition.
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The State Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Mrs Ruth Asor, facilitated the final session on programme and commodities monitoring and reporting, focusing on the effective use of data tools, documentation, tracking of nutrition commodities and quality reporting.
The training is expected to strengthen the capacity of frontline health workers to improve infant and young child feeding practices, enhance nutrition service delivery and contribute to reducing malnutrition across Benue State.