An intervention project funded by the United States Department of State has supported about 3,900 children affected by malnutrition and more than 1,900 farmers in Yunusari Local Government Area of Yobe State.
The project, implemented by the North East Youth Initiative for Development (NEYIF), also reached more than 38,000 people through nutrition, agriculture, counselling, protection and other humanitarian interventions targeting conflict-affected communities.
Speaking to journalists at the project close-out and sustainability workshop in Damaturu, the Executive Director of NEYIF, Comrade Dauda Muhammad Gombe, said the intervention had impacted thousands of vulnerable people in the area.
He expressed appreciation to the United States government and American taxpayers for funding the project, saying the support had made a significant impact in nutrition and agriculture, particularly among children and families affected by conflict and poverty.
Gombe said the project covered five wards in Yunusari, where children affected by malnutrition were identified and supported.
According to him, about 3,900 children were reached directly, while more than 38,000 people benefited from the various components of the intervention.
He said one of the major interventions was the production and use of locally made nutritious food known as ‘Tom Brown’ to support children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition without complications.
He stressed that Tom Brown was not a replacement for ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), which is used for treating children with severe acute malnutrition.
‘Tom Brown is made locally, not as RUTF, but we use this to treat children with moderate issues, while children with severe cases, we refer them to OTP or stabilisation centres,’ he said.
Gombe said the project also supported about 1,900 farmers through rain-fed and dry-season farming, providing agricultural inputs, including millet and sorghum seeds.
He said demonstration farms were established in the communities, while farmer field schools were organised to train farmers on improved farming practices.
The intervention also supported mothers through counselling and maternal and infant support activities, while fathers were engaged to strengthen family participation in tackling malnutrition.
Gombe said the production of Tom Brown was largely carried out by women in the communities, creating a potential livelihood opportunity while addressing child malnutrition.
He explained that a lead mother coordinated 12 mothers whose children were receiving nutritional support.
The women collected the required ingredients from designated vendors, processed and prepared the food collectively, packaged it and took it home for use during the week.
He said the women could eventually continue producing Tom Brown as a business while helping prevent children with moderate acute malnutrition from progressing to severe cases.
According to him, more than 3,800 children had recovered through the programme.
He said the organisation was also part of a national advocacy effort led by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) for the wider adoption of Tom Brown as part of Nigeria’s response to malnutrition.
Explaining the choice of Yunusari, Gombe said the local government was selected because of its status as a conflict-affected and hard-to-reach area, coupled with the limited presence of humanitarian partners.
He said other frontline local government areas, including Geidam, Gulani and Gujba, had attracted more development and humanitarian organisations.
‘Yunusari is also a frontline area. It is isolated, it is desert-ridden, and there is less engagement of partners there at the time we selected it,’ he said.
Gombe added that nutrition data from the Yobe State Primary Healthcare Management Board had consistently placed Yunusari among local government areas with high nutrition-related challenges.
He said poverty, remoteness and the difficult terrain had further worsened the situation.
‘Sometimes our staff have to travel by foot for certain kilometres to reach these communities. They are isolated, they are in the desert and they are in need of that support,’ he said.
He said the project therefore combined nutrition with agriculture to enable families to produce food locally and improve access to nutritious diets.
‘We don’t need to import, we don’t need to bring from anywhere. We produce in the community, we feed in the community and we train the community. That is the essence of this project,’ he said.
Gombe said the organisation deliberately involved community members in the implementation of the project to promote sustainability.
He said between 70 and 80 per cent of the project workforce was recruited from the local communities, including community mobilisers, supervisors and other field workers.
‘We never call them project beneficiaries. We call them project participants because they are involved. They are carried along,’ he said.
According to him, the approach was designed to ensure that the project left behind skills, knowledge and structures that could continue to benefit the communities after the funding ended.
As the project closes, Gombe called on the government to take ownership of the interventions and sustain the gains recorded.
He said development organisations and humanitarian partners could only complement government efforts, particularly given the enormous challenges facing conflict-affected communities.
‘The aim of all this project is, at the end of the day, government to take ownership, government to continue. What we are doing with the U.S. government and everyone is complementing the government,’ he said.
Responding, the Yobe State Government has commended NEYIF for its intervention in Yunusari, describing the project as evidence-based and impactful.
The Secretary to the Yobe State Government, Dr. Muhammad Goje, described NEYIF as an important partner to the state, saying the indigenous NGO had supported communities across the state in areas including education, health, protection, empowerment and nutrition.
Goje, who was represented by Malam Farouk Abdullahi Chiromari, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Project Research and Documentation in the Office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), said the close-out of the Yunusari project was a testament to NEYIF’s contribution, particularly its support for children affected by malnutrition.
‘What they are doing today is a close-out of their project and it is evidence-based. They have achieved a lot,’ Chiromari said.
He explained that organisations seeking to operate in Yobe State were screened and monitored by the government to ensure effective implementation of their programmes.
‘Before an organisation would be allowed to operate in Yobe State, that organisation needs to be screened. They have been screened and there are particular desk officers that are tracking their progress,’ he said.
Chiromari said the state government had followed and tracked NEYIF’s activities through the relevant sectors and was satisfied with the progress recorded.
He said the government would continue to partner with NEYIF and other organisations willing to support vulnerable communities across the state.
‘Yobe State Government continues to partner with not only NEYIF but all partners that are willing to support our people,’ he said.
Also speaking, the representative of the District Head of Kafiya-Bukarti in Yunusari LGA, Malam Lawan Kawu, said the project had helped address the shortage of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) in the area.
He said the intervention, which was largely implemented through women in the communities, was complementing the efforts of the state government and non-governmental organisations in tackling hunger and malnutrition.
Kawu added that the programme had also created livelihood opportunities for women involved in the local production of the nutritious food.
The project close-out workshop was organised to discuss the sustainability of the interventions and encourage greater ownership by the government and communities after the end of the U.S.-funded programme.