Francis Sardauna in Katsina
To enhance vocational and adolescent education in the state, an organisation, Save the Children International (SCI), has distributed vocational training materials to five local government areas of Katsina State worth N8.7 million.
The organisation had also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state Ministry of Women Affairs, Children and Social Development for continued collaboration and sustainability of various interventions in the areas of child survival and welfare.
Speaking while handing over the items to the benefiting councils yesterday, the SCI Project Director, Dr. Modupe Taiwo, said the organisation had trained 144 health workers in improved reproductive services in obstetric emergency management.
She explained that the non-profit organisation had in the last two years engaged 498 safe spaces facilitators in Sandamu and Rimi Local Government Areas, adding that 11,847 adolescents had so far graduated from the programme.
Taiwo said: “In the last two years, we commenced the implementation of a gender transformative project targeting adolescents in ages of 10 to19 in Sandamu and Rimi LGAs called ‘Reaching and Empowering Adolescents’ to make informed choices for their health reach.
“We created safe spaces for children out of which a total of 11,847 adolescents have so far graduated from both ASRH and choices safe spaces. We also trained 144 health workers in improved reproductive health services, including basic obstetric emergency management and new born care.
“Other areas include the post-partum and long active reversible contraceptive, exclusive breast feeding, prevention and treatment of STIs, post-abortion care, age and life stage counseling among others.”
In her remarks, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Children and Social Development, Mrs. Rabia Muhammad, applauded the Save the Children International for the gesture, and appealed for the scaling up of the programme to three more local government areas of the state.
Items supplied included plastic containers, hand gloves, stoves, pots, chemicals for making pomade, detergents and air freshners, Ankara, sewing machines, plastic tables, calculators among others.
