By Iliya Kure
Kaduna (Nigeria) – Over 300 community mobilisers that contributed to the success of child spacing campaign in Kaduna State, northern Nigeria, were Monday honoured by Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI), a Gates Foundation Project.
Since 2010, the community mobilisers worked in communities in 7 local government areas of the state, raising awareness and encouraging families to space their child birth. They engaged men and women, as well as referred them to health facilities where child spacing services were rendered.
Speaking on the occasion, Executive Director, Centre for Communication Progress, Nigeria (CCPN), an implementing Partner of the NURHI Project, Babafunke Fagbemi, praised the mobilisers for enlightening, educating and mobilizing communities on the need to space their births.
“Through your efforts Kaduna women and men can walk freely to medical facilities to ask about information on child-spacing. You have also broken the ground where some norms, culture and beliefs are against child-spacing.
“However, I must let you know that NURHI2 will be more involving and you have to do those things you have been doing before to maintain the standard in the campaign of child-spacing,” she said.
One of the mobilisers, Abdulrahaman Ibrahim from Igabi Local Government Area, said he linked his messages with the health of the mother, norms and beliefs and letting people see the relationship between them.
According to Ibrahim the present economic realities is also telling on people, encouraging them to plan their families.
Similarly, Tina James from Jama’a Local Government Area, thanked NURHI for giving her the opportunity to serve as a mobiliser in her local government and promised to do more.
The mobilizers were presented with gifts including bags, rechargeable lamps and other equipment to aid their jobs in the rural areas.
The success of the project has led to the introduction of its 2nd phase, the NURHI2 Project which runs till year 2020.
