No fewer than one hundred (100) Osun women have been trained on child nutrition in a two-day capacity training programme, organised by the Federal ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster And Social Development.
The Project Manager, First Humanitarian Medic Plus Initiative, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Dr Yusuf Abdul Rahman Bashir made this known at the -4 day advocacy stakeholders programme held at Osogbo Mega grammar school, Osogbo on Friday.
The community-based training programme which had representatives from seven local governments in attendance, was said to be carried out in the six geo- political zones of the country out of which Osun State was selected in the SouthWest.
According to the project manager, the programme was put in place to compliment the efforts of homegrown school feeding programme in the state to educate and enlighten women on child nutrition.
Dr. Bashir who added that,the programme was put together to educate mothers on types of food, feeding and health care to be given to their children to make them more healthy.
While affirming that negative nutrition from parents to children could retard their physical, and mental abilities, he assured that, efforts are being put in place on enlightenment programme in different communities of the state to develop mothers’ knowledge on the consequences or outcomes of good nutrition and bad nutrition on children in the communities.
“Mothers and children are our main target and we will not relent in associating with the entire households to ensure health and nutrition play predominant roles in their abodes through incessant education on the subject matter,” he said.
On the trained women, the instructor explained that those trained would also in return train others to spread the message of importance of nutrition in different localities of the state while proper monitoring team would be put in place by the concerned authorities to ensure feed backs are positive on their targeted objectives at the end of the day.
Besides this, he stressed, every necessary arrangement would be put in place to assign health and nutrition workers that will see to the improved health of mothers and children in any given society.
On pregnant women, Bashir noted that there are changes in life style high nutritional needed for good development of both the mothers and baby during pregnancy and lactation.
He, however, recommended a diet that contains a variety of food in adequate amounts for them stressing that, they should consume enough foods to ensure adequate weight gain (guided by measurement).
The project manager also charged them to maintain optimum health which he argued,is a goal for all women and added that,adequate nutrition before the reproductive years further helps to ensure achievement of proper adolescent growth,sufficient nutrient store during reproductive years for a healthy pregnancy and an appropriate nutritional status.
The need for healthy eating among women is essential to optimise both mother and her off spring’s health.”
In her contributions, the Osun State Nutrition Officer, (State Primary Health Care), Mrs Rasheedat Popoola described the programme as a timely one for nursing mother and expressed optimism that it would have positive impact on the targeted audience.
She assured that, mass mobilization and enlightenment programmes would be more intensified on importance of health nutrition in the state.
Mrs. Popoola pointed out that health nutrition is as essential as heart in the life of a human being and charged women to take it serious because of themselves and their children.
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