The Family Mid Upper arm Circumference MUAC Programme has been identified as a vital strategy for detection of malnutrition cases at early stage in Bauchi State.
The Project Medical Reference Medicines Sans Frontiers Bauchi Project, Dr Claude Bitaronga made this know at the therapeutic feeding Center kafin Madaki during a visit by members of, Journalists for public health and Development J4PD to the Hospital.
Dr Claude Bitaronga explain that the programme was adopted by Doctors without Borders MSF to stamp the rising cases of severe malnourished childrens and it has started yielding positive results.
He said parents are now using Mid Upper arm Circumference MUAC tape at home to detect childrens that are malnourished for proper medical care.
“The parents in the community they are capable to apply the MAUC tape and then diagnose their child and then they will come to the nearest facility where we can apply all the atrophomitric measures and confirm the patient as malnourished and we can see already the results, the mothers are coming and the measures they took sometimes we are confirming directly and others we are finding that, they are closer to malnutrition and we advise what to do”
The Project Medical Reference stress that on daily basis the Center is receiving 70-100 malnourished childrens and other pediatric cases from different part of the country.
“The patiens are caming here been referred from other PHCC from the same LGA and even others state like Jigawa, Plateau state and other locations. Some are coming here been referred while others come alone without being referred by different PHCC, because the heard information that MSF is responding to children from one month to 15 years old with malnutrition or without malnutrition ”
According to Dr Claude Bitaronga the ITFC Ganjuwa is expanding it’s bed capacity, during peak season of Malnutrition cases from 250 to 350 bed capacity to accommodate the surge in patients.
“The peak season of Malnutrition is between the month of April to July”
The Project Medical Reference explain further that, the Center also admit Childrens between the age of 1 month to 15 years who present with Malnutrition,Malaria, diarrhea anaemia, Lassa fever and other child killer disease.
Dr Bitaronga emphasis that the hospital is given rehabilitation and psychosocial support to the mothers to enable them adhere strictly to the treatment of their children.
” If the child is malnourished it affect the entire family especially the mother that always think the loss of her child and it always affecting her mentally
He maintain that the hospital is engaging the host communities to seek their support to bring malnourished childrens to the center for free diagnose, treatment and feeding.
“The focus for us in this facility is the response to malnutrition and also pediatric cases that we are supposed to respond to, as humanitarian organization this is MSF, we are here in Ganjuwa LGA Bauchi State as humanitarian organization we came to support the state government in responding to malnutrition ”
Dr Claude advise parents to use the available food in their community to prepare meals that can prevent their children from malnutrition.
Some of the Caregivers interviewed Malam Musa Yamtari from Kirfi LGA, Aishatu Hassan from Gwallaga and Shagari Muhammad from Soro Commended Doctors without Borders for their free treatment to their children.
During the tour J4PD members, Observed that the facility has a modern medical waste management and disposal, constant electricity and excellent health worker patients relations.
Medecins Sans Frontiers MSF has been spearheading provision of medical care, training and health promotion activities to combat malnutrition in Bauchi State since 2012.
By Ishaq Haruna Hardawa
