News Investigators/ Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) has inaugurated a five-year food security and malaria prevention project aimed at empowering 1,200 vulnerable households in Katsina and Nasarawa States.
This is contained in a statement issued by Uzoma Nwofor, Senior Communications Manager of IHVN, on Saturday in Abuja.
Ms Nwofor said the project, inaugurated simultaneously in both states on Thursday, sought to promote sustainable agriculture, improved nutrition practices and malaria prevention among vulnerable families.
She added that IHVN currently provides HIV services in four states and selected Katsina and Nasarawa based on empirical evidence of vulnerability, including poverty levels, malaria burden and HIV prevalence.
Ms Nwofor said a vulnerability assessment identified 400 households in Katsina and 800 households in Nasarawa as most at risk.
According to her, the project aims to strengthen household resilience through food demonstration trainings using locally available foods, with trained community workers providing house-to-house follow-up support.
She added that beneficiaries would also be trained in soap making to promote water, sanitation and hygiene practices.
“The households have been grouped into three agricultural categories: 200 for livestock farming, 400 for home gardening and 600 for community farming to cultivate vitamin- and protein-rich crops,” she said.
Ms Nwofor said beneficiaries were provided with planting pots, animal shelters, livestock medications and fertilisers, while trained community workers would continue to supervise farming activities and introduce improved techniques.
She further disclosed that IHVN was collaborating with 13 health facilities to facilitate referrals for malaria and severe malnutrition cases.
She quoted the Project Director, Dr Victoria Igbinomwanhia, as saying at the inauguration that beneficiaries received livestock, including pigs, goats and chickens, as well as farming tools, seeds and training in livestock and crop production.
According to her, the households were also trained in nutrition, financial management through Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA), and malaria prevention practices.
Igbinomwanhia explained that the project was being implemented in collaboration with the Ministries of Agriculture and Food Security, Health, community-based organisations and traditional leaders to ensure sustainability.
“This project builds on our years of public health interventions, particularly in caring for people infected and affected by HIV, including orphans and vulnerable children,” she said.
A community worker, Ms Oluwayemisi Adeniji, expressed optimism that the project would improve household health and nutrition.
“We expect beneficiaries to share the knowledge and skills gained with others in their communities and ensure that these skills are put into practice,” Adeniji was quoted as saying.
Some beneficiaries, including Mrs Marakisiyya Yusuf, 35, and Mr Sulieman Mashi, 42, from Daura Local Government Area of Katsina State, said the training had already begun to make an impact.
Yusuf said she learned how to use VSLA to save for the future and planned to establish a savings group in her community, while Mashi said he intended to start a savings group and teach his wife how to prepare balanced meals using knowledge gained from the nutrition demonstrations.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project is being implemented by IHVN with funding support from BMZ/Gesundes Africa.
NAN
