Enhance and Strengthen the access to Integrated Nutrition Services for Children Under-five, Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women in 4 priority LGAs of Yobe State (Geidam, Gulani, Karasuwa and Yusufari) The purpose of this project is to rapidly enhance access to life-saving integrated nutrition services in Yobe State.  It will strengthen the uptake of integrated nutrition services in 4 priority LGAs of Yobe State through early detection and referral of malnourished children to health centers for treatment and malnutrition rehabilitation. The 4 project LGAs are considered priority based on the recent nutrition assessments which shows that they have higher burden of malnutrition than all the newly accessible LGAs of Borno State because many IDPs from northern Borno have migrated and settled in these LGAs. 

UNICEF has been supporting the Yobe State Primary Health Care Management Board (SPHCMB) to provide integrated lifesaving nutrition services to the under-5 children and pregnant and lactating women (PLW) in the priority areas of Yobe including Geidam, Gulani, Karasuwa and Yusufari LGAs through fixed health facilities and mobile outreach nutrition teams to ensure access to quality nutrition services. UNICEF has also deployed senior LGA nutrition facilitators in these LGAs in collaboration with Deloitte contracting company to provide onsite coaching and supportive supervision to OTP staffs to ensure quality of nutrition services. However, the overall nutrition program uptake in the State has not been optimal due to behavioral problems including poor health care seeking behavior among caregivers, low literacy level, lack of robust community systems or structures that promote nutrition education, misunderstanding and misperception of causes of undernutrition and lack of awareness on availability of life-saving nutrition programs. These issues have further exposed vulnerable children to morbidity, disability and mortality due to malnutrition. These behaviors have also contributed for the unacceptably high prevalence of malnutrition in these LGAs and without strong community mobilization many children will die as a result of malnutrition due to the barriers mentioned above.

Therefore, UNICEF is proposing for Partnership Cooperative Agreement (PCA) with a NGO Northeast Youth Initiative Forum (NEYIF) to deploy nutrition supervisors at community to support community nutrition mobilizers (CNMs) for timely detection of SAM children, their admission and follow up. NEYIF will ensure the conduct of monthly exhaustive screening of children 6-59 months for identification and referral of SAM cases for treatment in outpatient and inpatient facilities. Formation of mother support groups (MSGs) for IYCF education and support. Counsel and support caretakers on proper use of micronutrient powders for children aged 6-23 months. UNICEF will provide financial and technical support to the local NGO for the monitoring and management of community nutrition mobilizers at community levels. UNICEF together with state authorities and implementing partners will conduct joint supportive supervision to ensure program is implemented as planned and achievement of the project is on track. 

NEYIF is engaged by UNICEF to work with community volunteers on Gender Based Violence (GBV) issues in proposed LGAs. They are also engaged by Catholic Relief Services to strengthen cIYCF programs. NEYIF is leading civil society coalition on Nutrition and advocates for nutrition in the State. Here, NEYIF will ensure 90% of children with SAM are identified and referred to OTP for malnutrition treatment, all defaulted/absent cases are followed up, 70% women will have good knowledge of maternal nutrition and optimal IYCF practices and practice optimal IYCF. UNICEF will provide technical guidance to NEYIF to ensure application of standards throughout the project. The CSO will identify, engage and train CNMs to perform their roles. These activities will meaningfully complement the efforts of government to address malnutrition.