DELIVER Project

Delivering Health and Nutrition Assistance during the Lean Season: Providing Reproductive Health Services and Responding to Disease Outbreaks in Dikwa and Bama Local Government Areas

Introduction: With support from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund (NHF), we continued our delivery of essential healthcare services to vulnerable communities in Bama and Dikwa Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Borno State. Significant progress was recorded across several intervention areas during the final week of January 2025 (January 27–31).

Maternal Health: 201 women attended antenatal and postnatal care sessions, with 65 in Bama and 136 in Dikwa, ensuring they received essential health education, monitoring, and support. Skilled birth attendants safely conducted 17 deliveries in Bama and 10 in Dikwa, with corresponding numbers of maternal delivery kits (17 in Bama, 10 in Dikwa) distributed to support these births. Additionally, 48 children in Bama were treated and referred for moderate and severe acute malnutrition (MAM/SAM), while 19 cases were recorded in Dikwa.

Community Outreach and Healthcare Support: Our Mobile Medical Teams reached 1,241 individuals through targeted outreach: 903 in Bama and 338 in Dikwa. Additionally, we delivered comprehensive life-saving essential services through its supported health facilities, benefiting 412 individuals, including 243 in Bama and 169 in Dikwa.

Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE): RCCE efforts focused on disseminating vital messages covering key topics such as malaria and cholera prevention, hygiene promotion, reproductive health (including ANC, PNC, safe childbirth, and breastfeeding), malnutrition, gender-based violence, and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse. AHI directly reached 1,847 individuals: 1,023 in Bama and 824 in Dikwa through community engagement. In addition, engaging jingles emphasizing disease prevention, proper hygiene practices, and nutritional guidance were aired during motorized campaigns, further reinforcing the impact of RCCE initiatives. Furthermore, 89 people with disabilities in Bama and 15 in Dikwa were supported with essential healthcare services, ensuring inclusive access to life-saving interventions.

Hygiene and Malaria Prevention:
To enhance disease prevention efforts, we distributed hygiene kits to vulnerable women and girls; 35 in Bama and 79 in Dikwa. Additionally, 200 Insecticide-Treated Mosquito Nets (ITNs) were distributed in Bama and 234 in Dikwa to help protect vulnerable women and children from malaria.

Success Story

Falmata, a 32-year-old internally displaced woman in Kamcheji IDP Camp of Dikwa, Borno State, tragically lost her first pregnancy due to limited healthcare access.

“When I first got pregnant, I was so excited…But before I knew it, I lost my baby,” she recalled.

Fearful but determined, she conceived again. This time, Action Health Incorporated (AHI) provided crucial intervention with vital support from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund (NHF). This project offers maternal health services, including antenatal care and health education amongst other life-saving services in Bama and Dikwa LGAs.

A community health volunteer (CHV) connected Falmata to Dikwa Primary Health Centre, ensuring regular checkups and support. Unlike before, she received professional care throughout her pregnancy. She safely delivered a healthy baby, expressing immense gratitude:

“I was afraid I would lose another baby, but this time around, I had the care and support I needed.”

AHI continues supporting vulnerable groups, especially women, children, and people with disabilities, with essential health and nutrition services, highlighting the vital need for sustained healthcare investment in conflict-affected zones.

A happy, hopeful moment: Falmata, once filled with fear after loss, now cradles her healthy baby with a specially provided delivery kit from AHI, thanks to support by NHF and lifesaving care by the staff of Dikwa Primary Health Centre in Borno State.