Better Nutrition for the Nigerian Child Via ADHFP

Better Nutrition for the Nigerian Child via ADHFP

November 2025

1. Background

Improving child well-being in Nigeria is an urgent priority, especially in remote communities where access to basic healthcare is scarce. Currently, about 2.5 million children suffer from severe acute malnutrition. The Adopt-A-Healthcare Facility Programme (ADHFP) directly confronts this emergency by making functional Primary Health Centers (PHCs) the central pillar of nutritional defense.

In Q3 2025, thanks to donor support, our revitalized network of 60 PHCs across 33 states + FCT delivered essential, preventative services crucial to building nutritional resilience:

• Over 42,000 children (42,379) were fully immunized, fortifying them against common diseases that deplete vital nutrients.
• Over 14,800 pregnant women (14,803) received Antenatal Care (ANC), ensuring essential maternal nutritional counseling and supplementation for healthier births.
• 126,257 people accessed health services overall, driving health system utilization.

    2. PHC-based Nutritional Support (The ADHFP-Strategy)

Through the "Adopt A Healthcare Facility Programme" (ADHFP), Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PSHAN) adopts and upgrades healthcare facilities within communities, ensuring children receive essential medical and nutritional care. The ADHFP strategy addresses the problem of malnutrition by ensuring PHCs are equipped, stocked, and staffed to prevent chronic illness and promote healthy growth. This includes building the capacity of healthcare workers and caregivers in nutritional education.

    3. Summary of Activities: Nutritional Impact

• Children Immunization (42,379): Reduces incidence of infections (diarrhea, measles), allowing children to absorb and retain nutrients effectively.
• Women Antenatal Care (14,803): Provides iron supplements and counseling, preventing low birth weight and improving maternal health.
• Essential Drug Supply (45 PHCs): Ensures immediate treatment for childhood infections that lead to rapid nutrient depletion.
• Facility Provision (Boreholes): Provides clean water, reducing waterborne illnesses that severely compromise a child's nutritional status.

 4. Voices from the Community

The provision of clean water is a direct nutritional win. As expressed by an officer-in-charge at EdibaPHC in Cross River State, Nigeria: “Many in the community are really benefiting from the borehole; it has increased our ANC, post-natal clinic attendance and other health services.”

5. Monitoring and Evaluation

• Monitoring & Evaluation Processes are in place for monthly report collation, validation, and transmission.
• On-ground ad-hoc staff as a key step in strengthening the workforce across different communities and states.

6. Long-Term Impact

The implementation of the Adopt-a-Healthcare Facility Programme by the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PSHAN) is expected to yield profound and sustainable long-term effects:

• Improved child well-being: Support in remote communities improves well-being and reduces child mortality rates.
• Empowered communities: The programme fosters community self-reliance, ownership, and development.
• Reduction in inequalities: PSHAN's focus on remote communities will reduce healthcare disparities and promote equity and inclusivity.
• Economic growth: Healthy children are more likely to become productive members of society, contributing to the economic growth of Nigeria in the long run.

7. Conclusion and Call to Action

Our progress this quarter demonstrates the transformative potential of a functional PHC system in tackling child malnutrition and strengthening community health. Building on the success of the first 60 revitalized PHCs, PSHAN, through the Adopt-A-Healthcare Facility Programme (ADHFP) is now advancing to revitalize over 700 additional PHCs across the country. This scale-up will bring lifesaving services closer to thousands of underserved communities, ensuring more children receive vaccinations, essential medicines, clean water, and nutrition counseling at the facility nearest to their homes.

As we expand, we will intensify training for frontline healthcare workers and deepen our community-based nutrition campaigns, including micronutrient supplementation, Vitamin A distribution, deworming, and improved infant and young child feeding practices. These interventions are essential to prevent avoidable childhood illnesses such as diarrhea, malaria, and malnutrition-related complications.

Your continued support is not just sustaining care; it is multiplying impact. With your partnership, we can accelerate national coverage and reach more vulnerable children. Together, we can secure a healthier future for countless Nigerian children and strengthen the foundation for long-term community resilience.

Background

Nigeria, diverse and populous, struggles with improving child well-being, especially in remote areas, with children marked by inadequate nutrition and healthcare access. Malnutrition affects 1 in 3 children in developing countries like Nigeria. According to data from UNICEF, as of 2020, one in every five of the world’s out-of-school children is in Nigeria, a significant portion of whom are from remote communities grappling with high rates of child malnutrition. Sadly, approximately 2.5 million children in the country are currently suffering from severe acute malnutrition, underscoring the urgent need for intervention and support in these areas.

Objectives Being Addressed

PHC-based Nutritional Support (The ADHFP-Strategy): Through the "Adopt A Healthcare Facility Programme" (ADHFP), Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PSHAN) adopts and upgrades healthcare facilities within communities, ensuring children receive essential medical and nutritional care. The programme also builds the capacity of healthcare workers and mothers/caregivers by providing nutritional education and counseling, enabling them to identify signs of nutritional deficiencies and address them effectively.

Summary of Activities

The Adopt-A-Healthcare Facility Programme (ADHFP) has been pivotal in advancing the “Better Nutrition for the Nigerian Child” project by revitalizing primary healthcare facilities across various 36 states in Nigeria. Through this initiative, we have delivered essential healthcare services, built the capacity of healthcare workers, and equipped caregivers with nutritional education to identify critical warning signs, ensuring improved nutrition and well-being for children.

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Monitoring & Evaluation Processes in place for monthly report collation, validation, and transmission.
• On-ground ad-hoc staff as a key step in strengthening the workforce across different communities and states.

Long-Term Impact

The implementation of the Adopt-a-Healthcare Facility Programme by the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PSHAN) is expected to yield profound and sustainable long-term effects:

1. Improved child well-being: Support in remote communities improves well-being and reduces child mortality rates.
2. Empowered communities: The programme fosters community self-reliance, ownership, and development.
3. Reduction in inequalities: PSHAN's focus on remote communities will reduce healthcare disparities and promote equity and inclusivity.
4. Economic growth: Healthy children are more likely to become productive members of society, contributing to the economic growth of Nigeria in the long run.

Conclusion

With more funding from donations, children in Nigeria will have access to basic healthcare and better nutrition. We aim to enhance infant and young child feeding initiatives by providing essential micronutrient supplementation, including deworming, Vitamin A, and Iron supplementation, through widespread community campaigns. By prioritising these interventions, we aim to promote healthier lifestyles and mitigate the prevalence of common ailments such as colds, catarrh, malaria, diarrhoea, and vomiting among children.