In Bauchi, UNICEF-Supported Mama2Mama, Fathers for Good Health Volunteers Take the Fight Against Child Malnutrition to Communities
By Samuel Luka, Bauchi
In the early morning heat of Darazo, Bauchi State, Maimuna Wakili carries neither a stethoscope nor a prescription pad.
Her tools are simpler: her voice, a notebook and a list of children considered at risk of malnutrition.
She knocks on doors. She enters homes. She sits with families on mats and looks closely at the children before her.
“We received training on how to move around our community from house to house to sensitise our fellow women and to help them identify signs of malnutrition in children for proper action,” says Maimuna, leader of the Mama2Mama volunteer group in Darazo Local Government Area.
It is a simple intervention, repeated across communities in Bauchi State, but one with potentially life-changing consequences for children during the most critical period of their development.
For Maimuna, the impact is already visible.
“The level of acceptance by the community is overwhelming. As a result, cases of malnutrition have drastically reduced in our community,” she says.
In Masallacin Idi Sarki, another volunteer, Aishatu Hallai, spends her time helping mothers understand what malnutrition can look like before it becomes severe.
The signs, she explains, may include poor growth, failure to gain height or weight, loss of appetite and unhealthy changes to a child’s skin.
“When they notice such signs, they should take the child to the health centre. And once the child is diagnosed with malnutrition, they will place the child on RUTF,” Maimuna explains, referring to Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food used in the management of severe acute malnutrition.
Aishatu says the volunteers also encourage mothers to seek professional care early and help families connect with nearby health facilities.
“We made them to know that it is after three months of birth that a child may show symptoms of malnutrition. Where mothers do not fully understand, we fix appointments for them at the nearest health facility,” she says.
The result is a gradual change in behaviour.
Mothers who once kept sick or undernourished children at home are increasingly seeking help through the volunteers and health facilities.
The grassroots network has become an important community-level component of Bauchi’s response to child malnutrition, bringing basic nutrition awareness and early identification closer to families.
Closing the Gap
But the challenge extends beyond identifying malnutrition.
Bauchi State faces a significant gap between antenatal care attendance and institutional delivery. While almost 70 to 80 per cent of mothers attend antenatal care, only about 35 to 40 per cent deliver in health facilities.
According to Dr. Rilwanu Muhammad, Executive Chairman of the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Board, the consequences of home deliveries can include increased risks associated with poor infant feeding practices, infections and early childhood malnutrition.
To address these challenges, Bauchi State, with support from UNICEF and the United States Government, is focusing on the first 1,000 days of life — from conception through a child’s second birthday.
According to Philomena Irene, Nutrition Specialist with the UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, the U.S. Government grant is particularly focused on preventing malnutrition before it becomes severe.
“The U.S. Government support to Bauchi State through the grant has enabled us to provide support to over 40,000 children aged 6 to 23 months with Small Quantity Lipid-based Nutrient Supplements, SQ-LNS, for the prevention of malnutrition,” she says.
The intervention, however, goes beyond nutritional supplements.
More than 6,000 Mama2Mama and Fathers for Good Health support group members have been trained to deliver nutrition messages focused on the first 1,000 days of life, while more than 50 health workers have received training on the management of acute malnutrition at health-facility level.
The programme also seeks to strengthen the systems required to keep nutrition interventions functioning.
The grant has supported improvements to the Logistics Management Information System and the District Health Information System for tracking nutrition supplies. It has also helped revitalise Local Government Food and Nutrition Committees and encouraged local governments to release funds for Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food and Multiple Micronutrient Supplements for pregnant women.
Strengthening the Supply Chain
Dr. Muhammad says maintaining adequate supplies remains critical to sustaining the intervention.
According to him, the state has distributed about 480,000 cartons of RUTF and approved N500 million for the fresh procurement of RUTF and Multiple Micronutrient Supplements, with UNICEF expected to provide another N500 million as a matching grant.
“We are waiting for the release of the money so that UNICEF will also pay another N500 million as matching grant to procure these items. That is why we are trying to close the gap,” he says.
He adds that SQ-LNS is being distributed gradually to ensure that it reaches “the right child in the right ward.”
For nutrition specialists, the focus on the first 1,000 days is not accidental.
“This is the period where 75 percent of brain development takes place, including the muscular system, skeletal system and vital organs,” Philomena Irene explains.
“If we miss this period, children may not fit among their peers, may not compete in the digital world, and may be prone to diseases like cancer, obesity and other non-communicable diseases,” she adds.
The Power of a Trusted Neighbour
For Maimuna and the thousands of volunteers working at community level, the mission remains straightforward: reach families early, provide accurate information and help children at risk get to the right health facility before malnutrition becomes life-threatening.
Their work rarely attracts the attention that major hospitals, new equipment or large government programmes command.
Yet, every day, they walk through communities, knock on doors and sit with mothers.
In a state where the battle against child malnutrition begins long before a child can walk, one of the most important interventions may sometimes be a trusted neighbour who knows the warning signs, understands where to seek help and refuses to look away.