Global Partnership Program
The Wellbeing Foundation Africa, Nutrition International (NI), and the Government of Canada commenced the Scaling Up Zinc and LO-ORS to Improve Childhood Diarrhoea Treatment in Northern Nigeria project in partnership with the Governments of Kano and Sokoto states to reduce the number of deaths due to diarrhoea among children under 5 years in Nigeria.
In August 2021, Nutrition International and WBFA joined forces to deliver the Enhancing Childhood Diarrhea Treatment in Northern Nigeria with Zinc and LO-ORS project. Together we aimed to mitigate the severe impact of diarrhea on children under five (U5) in Kano and Sokoto States. Childhood Diarrhea, though preventable and treatable, remains a major threat to child survival in Nigeria. The alarming rates of childhood diarrhea in these northwestern states prompted the development of this project, which uses a two-pronged approach - strengthening healthcare systems and encouraging positive behavioral changes.
The main objectives of the project, which spanned from 2021 to 2023, were to:
Improve the availability of Zinc and LO-ORS in public health facilities in the target states by supporting the strengthening of the Drug Revolving Fund (DRF).
Advocate for inclusion of Zinc and LO-ORS in DRF lists in the supported state.
Increase the capacity of frontline healthcare workers by promoting Zinc and LO-ORS combination as standard first-line treatment for every diarrhea case at the target facilities and community service points.
Advocacy against Gender-Based Violence and harmful practices.
Reduce mortality rates caused by diarrhea among U5 in Nigeria.
The first phase of this program was between August 2021 and March 2022, spanning across 80 healthcare facilities within 8 local government authorities in Sokoto and Kano. Subsequently, Phase 2 commenced in August 2022, broadening the program's scope to 30 LGAs (10 in Sokoto and 20 in Kano) and 200 healthcare facilities (100 in Sokoto and 100 in Kano). This scale-up, ultimately meant an increase of individuals benefiting from the program. In the 2023 stage of this project, Phase 2 , we conducted four advocacy visits in Kano and Sokoto (3:1) to policymakers.
Our aim here was to educate on the importance of an increased financial commitment, while raising awareness on the need to ensure the sustained availability of the Zinc and LO-ORS supply within the DRF. To bolster the financial reporting system of the DRF scheme, WBFA conducted a one-day refresher training to 25 Essential Drug Officers. Moreover, Joint Supportive Supervision Visits were conducted to validate the activities of the DRF Scheme through regular monitoring & supervision. Finally, the project team conducted a three-day workshop in both states to develop and review the Health Commodity Supply Policy. Throughout the Phase 2 of this initiative, WBFA and NI delivered 30,000 co-packs of Zinc/LO-ORS Additionally, 70,000 co-packs were distributed to 100 HCFs to bolster the DRF seed stock. Sokoto State received a seed grant of 90,000 co-packs which were distributed by the state’s government, MSF and IHP.
To increase healthcare worker capacity to manage diarrhea and to improve Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) practices, we trained 120 healthcare workers. The training was led by IMCI master trainers, utilizing the National IMCI training manual and the Quick Reference Guide. Step-down training on diarrhoea management reached 5,879 healthcare workers (3,617 in Sokoto and 2,262 in Kano). To further enhance the knowledge of the healthcare workers and caregivers, short messages on best practices and treatment were created and disseminated, with a total of 4,463 SMS sent to healthcare workers and caregivers (2049 in Sokoto and 2414 in Kano State). WBFA Mamacare midwifery educators conducted 723 visits to educate caregivers on Zinc/Lo-ORS for treating diarrhoeal disease at ANC and PNC health service points. A total of 36,354 mothers and caregivers, 18,041 in Kano while 18,313 in Sokoto received health education on Zinc and LO-ORS usage. During this second phase of the project, a total of 9,072 under-five children with diarrhoea (3351 in Kano and 5721 in Sokoto) were treated with ZINC LO-ORS and zero deaths were recorded from diarrhoea during this implementation period.
