By Haruna Aliyu, Birnin Kebbi

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has entered into strategic partnership with the Kebbi State Government to strengthen gender-responsive sexual and reproductive health rights as well as nutrition services across the state and other two benefiting States ,Bauchi and Kaduna.

The initiative, funded by Global Affairs Canada, is designed for UNICEF to provide technical support, while the Kebbi State Government will implement the programme through the State Primary Health Care Development Agency.

According to UNICEF, Kebbi is one of the states most affected by malnutrition and lacks adequate mechanisms for sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially for women and adolescent girls.

This prompted the intervention, which includes training of health professionals and technical officers to ensure effective implementation and long-term success.

Speaking during a training workshop in Birnin Kebbi, the UNICEF Chief Field Officer in Sokoto, Michael Juma, said the objective is to ensure that women, adolescent girls, and children have access to quality health care and nutrition services.

He added that the project aims to address gaps and promote gender-responsive approaches to health care.

Declaring the workshop open, the Kebbi State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Yunusa Ismail, commended Governor Nasir Idris for prioritising the health sector.

He noted that the Governor has given the health sector the attention it deserves by improving service delivery, including the recent recruitment of 500 professional health workers and the renovation of over 14 primary health centres (PHCs).

The intervention programme, funded by the Government of Canada, will run for five years, with Kebbi, along with Kaduna and Bauchi, are the three Nigerian states selected to benefit from the implementation of the health scheme.

The two days training which was held at Azbir hotels in Birnin Kebbi will wind up on Wednesday.