By GARBA MUHAMMAD, Kaduna

Kaduna Maternal Accountability Mechanism (KADMAM), a Civil Society Organization, has expressed readiness to work with Lafiya-DFID to integrate and make more advocacies around nutrition, education, water sanitation, hygiene, employment and human development.

Mustapha Jumare, KADMAM Co-Chairman (CSO side), made the appeal while speaking to newsmen on Tuesday in Kaduna at the end of a one-day meeting supported by Lafiya-DFID.

The meeting is also aimed to sensitise KADMAM on the Lafiya Programme for its participation in the programme, to quantify members capacity for Lafiya monitoring purposes, to identify capacity gaps to inform a capacity development plan, to access the practical knowledge of KADMAM to engage in advocacy and accountability efforts, to gauge the awareness of the concept of Human Capital Development as well as on how to integrate the mechanism into other areas of other CSO’s existing activities in the state, among others.

The mechanism which hitherto works only on health matters is now set to capture other areas in its determination to work with other Civil Societies already involved in those areas.

“We started in February and we are still at the inception stage. During inception, you want to know what is the baseline of your intervention, hence, we liaise with KADMAM,” Jumare said.

The KADMAN co-chair, however, appealed to the state government to ensure actual release of funds to back budget approvals on health issues to address current the challenges in the sector.

Jumare also appealed to other CSOs working in the state to intensify advocacy towards securing government commitment to prioritize on improved healthcare service delivery.

“KADMAM is seeking support from Lafiya-DFID to integrate and make more advocacies around nutrition, education, water sanitation, hygiene, employment and human development,” he maintained.

Lafiya-DFID is a seven year programme funded by DFID, focusing on improved healthcare system for the most vulnerable in the Kaduna and some States across Nigeria.

In her remarks, Dr Sikiratu Amadu, Lafiya-DFID State Team Lead, said the programme aims to improve health outcomes for the poorest and most vulnerable in the country through encouraging government to increase resources invested in health sector.

He said: “Lafiya chose to work with KADMAM because of the impact of its work in the state.

“We started in February and we are still at the inception stage. During inception, you want to know what is the baseline of your intervention, hence, we liaise with KADMAM.

“We believe that with them being involved, we can achieve the goal of getting the government to be more accountable and to prioritize health.”