News
New Incentive enroll over 450,000 infants for Immunization, expends N1.2b
Nasiru Yusuf
New Incentive Enroll Over 450,000 Infants for Immunization, Expends 1.2 Billion in Nigeria as All Babies Are Equal (ABAE) said the program which aim to reduce child mortality through cost-effective and evidence-based health intervention said it has enrolled over 450,000 infants whose caregivers have received over 1.2 billion naira in conditional cash transfer between 2017 to date.
KANO FOCUS reports that ABAE disburses cash incentives to caregivers conditional on infants receiving five vaccines: BCG (against tuberculosis), PENTA (against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type b), PCV (against pneumococcal disease), and MCV 1&2 (against measles).
As a result of the cash transfers which compensate for transport, lost trading income, and waiting time while creating behavioural change through awareness of routine immunizations, an independent impact assessment of NI-ABAE’s CCTs for RI program (2017 – 2020) found that the program increases the likelihood that children would be fully immunized by 27 percentage points, and increases rates of individual vaccinations by 14 to 21 percentage points.
In a communique issued on the recent visit of the National Partners of New Incentive-All Babies Are Equal Initiative monitoring visit to Katsina and Jigawa it said, beyond vaccination, the assessment found that the program contributed to improved knowledge about vaccination among caregivers in the catchment areas served by the program.
The NGO’s partnerships with relevant Government agencies in the health sector both at national, state and local government levels, help to improve demand generation for routine immunization and other supply-side supports for the routine immunization system.
And that NI-ABAE has received commitments of over $29 million of funding over the next 3 years to reach over 1 million caregivers and their infants in Jigawa, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Bauchi,Gombe and Kano States.
This covers expansion to 65 LGAs inclusive of the current 27 intervening LGAs with continued operations through December 2024.
Resolutions contained in the communique signed on the 10th day of February 2022 by:
Edward Iyamu – Senior Scientific Officer Child Health Division, Federal Ministry of Health
Adetokunboh Aderoju – National Co-responsibility Officer, National Cash Transfer Office.
Gabriel Ikechuckwu – Monitoring and Evaluation Division Federal Ministry of Health
Ugwuegbu Ifeoma Augustina. – Chief Health Education Officer Health Promotion Division Federal Ministry of Health
Zara Shettima- Assistant Chief Executive Officer (General Duty) – Research and Knowledge Management Division Federal Ministry of Health and others reads;
“The New Incentives – All Babies Are Equal Initiative will continue to align its programs and policies including routine immunization plans and priorities with the Government of Nigeria at all levels.
Immunization is one of the most effective public health interventions, saving 2 to 3 million lives yearly (WHO). Evidence suggests that a 27 percentage points increase in the likelihood that children will be fully immunized by a Conditional Cash Transfer for routine immunization program (NI-ABAE RCT Impact Assessment 2017-2020).
The New Incentives – All Babies Are Equal Initiative will continue to support demand creation and other components of routine immunization in the 5 States and by proxy at the national level.
New Incentives – All Babies Are Equal Initiative will continue to provide transparent and regular updates to all stakeholders and also provide support on routine immunization, health, and social protection.
The Government of Nigeria(GoN) shall continue to provide the enabling environment to the NI-ABAE program at all levels, provide the needed support to ensure the expansion of the NI-ABAE program, ensure adequate vaccine supply and human resources for health in all health facilities.
The GoN shall engage all relevant state actors to ensure successful Conditional Cash Transfer programming, accountability among health workers including proper reporting of vaccine utilisation and routine immunization coverage.
States to adopt and adapt Models demonstrated by Katsina & Jigawa to scale-up RI intervention”.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
The staff of the Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company have protested the sacking of the agency’s Managing Director, Najeeb Mahmoud Abdulsalam.
KANO FOCUS reports that the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, had on Wednesday ordered the removal of heads of the FCT agencies and parastatals.
However, videos that emerged on Thursday night showed staff members of AUMTCO in tears, as they protested Abdulsalam’s removal.
The weeping protesters, who gathered around the sacked MD, are seen in a trending video chanting, “We want you back!”.
One of the protesters who shared the video on Twitter wrote, “#GovWike, Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company MD/CEO is just three months old in office and he has achieved what no past MD has ever dreamt or dare to achieve. It’ll be a loss on you sir and the entire #AUMTCO staff if you let him go. See us here protesting sir.”
A fellow of National Institute of Management, Abdussalam was Senior Special Assistant to Kano state Governor on students matters.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
The Kano State Government has appealed a Federal High Court judgement that ordered it to pay N30 billion as compensation to some traders for the demolition of their shops.
KANO FOCUS reports that a Federal High Court sitting in Kano and presided over by Justice Simon Anogede, had, while delivering judgement in the case filed by the Traders Association, said what the government did was barbaric and unconstitutional.
The court however awarded N30 billion as compensation to the traders, instead of the N250 billion they demanded from the government.
However, the Kano State government says it has appealed the judgement, which it described as miscarriage of justice.
Barrister Haruna Isa Dederi, the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, explained that the court was not right in awarding judgement to the Traders Association because the Land Use Act is clear on the position of lands in every state.
He insisted that the court lacked the jurisdiction to even listen to the case because government is the sole owner of land, according to the Land Use Act.
Headlines
ACReSAL plans to increase city parks to 50 in Kano, laments indiscriminate felling of trees
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
The Kano Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL), has said that it will increase city parks to 50 in Kano.
KANO FOCUS reports that the Project Coordinator Dr Dahiru Muhammad Hashim made this known while addressing newsmen on Thursday in Kano.
He said the project is planning to recover and restore lost landscapes arising from natural causes and human activities.
”We are committed to addressing the environmental challenges that affect the state such as climate change, drylands, erosion and flooding, land degradation, and issues that affect the livelihood of communities which is mainly agriculture.
”The ACReSAL project is anchored on four broad components that speak essentially to the demand of the poor whose livelihoods have been distressed,” he said.
Hashim also said that the ACReSAL project has drilled solar-powered boreholes and established tree nurseries in some local government areas of the state.
He said that the intervention would boost agriculture and improve the standard of living of the people while the tree nurseries would help to combat desertification and soil erosion.
He expressed the commitment of the state in improving and protecting the Kano environment with priority and attention to the sector on issues of biodiversity conservation and restoration of degraded lands.
“ACReSAL plans to undertake Erosion control work in Rarin, Dawakin Tofa and Bulbula/Gayawa, Nassarawa, and Ungogo Local government areas.
“Construction of water conservation structure and provision of minor irrigation facilities in ‘Yartiti, Shanono, and construction of water conservation structure and provision of minor irrigation facilities in Fajewa, Takai Local government area.
“Establishment of 100ha individual farmer orchards and Woodlot plantations, 200ha of woodlot in communal forests and institutional plantings.
“440ha farmer-managed natural regeneration of indigenous tree species on individual farmlands and communal forests and promotion of climate-smart agriculture through FLID and CRF among others,” he said
KANO FOCUS reports that the World Bank’s 700 million dollar ACReSAL project is being implemented in collaboration with the federal government and the 19 northern states and the FCT was recently officially launched in Bauchi by Gov. Bala Mohammed, thus becoming the first among the participating states to unveil the project implementation.
The ACreSAL project is embarked on by the Federal Government to build community resilience as well as improve the sustainable productivity of its natural resources in Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Plateau, Adamawa, Taraba, Niger, Kwara, and Kaduna.
These northern states including the FCT, the federal government said are faced by rapid desert encroachment ranging from severe to moderate and marginal.
Other incentives of the project are the strengthening of the environment for integrated climate-resilient landscape management, fighting issues surrounding desertification, drought, landscape degradation, and deprivation at community levels as well as resuscitating the sectors of agriculture, environment, and water resources.
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