Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, has pledged his administration’s full support for the expansion of the Save the Children Core Group Partners Project (CGPP), with a renewed focus on nutrition, maternal health and child healthcare across participating communities in the state.
Radda gave the assurance on Wednesday during an advocacy and partnership meeting with officials of the CGPP in Katsina.
The delegation was led by the Deputy Global Director of the CGPP Global Office, Ahmed Arale, and included Lami Samaila and members of the CGPP Katsina State team.
The governor described the planned expansion as timely, noting that sustained interventions were needed to address the growing challenge of malnutrition while improving maternal and child health outcomes across the state.
“I appreciate Save the Children and the Core Group Partners Project for their continued support to Katsina State. The expansion into nutrition and maternal and child health is timely because our state needs interventions in these areas. My administration is fully committed to supporting this initiative and ensuring its successful implementation,” he said.
Radda commended Save the Children and the CGPP for their longstanding partnership with the state, saying the collaboration had strengthened healthcare delivery and improved the wellbeing of vulnerable communities.
Earlier, the CGPP Katsina State Project Manager, Abubakar Ahmad, thanked the state government for its continued support, noting that the organisation had partnered with Katsina for the past 15 years on health and humanitarian interventions.
According to Ahmad, the project was introduced in the state in 2014 to support polio eradication efforts and has since expanded to include routine immunisation, global health security and cross-border vaccination campaigns.
He said the latest phase of the project, which focuses on nutrition and maternal health, is designed to address the increasing needs of women and children.
The programme is currently being implemented in six local government areas — Katsina, Kaita, Mai’adua, Zango, Daura and Funtua.
Ahmad explained that planned interventions include Tom Brown preparation and food demonstration sessions, Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) screening, support groups for pregnant and breastfeeding women, and community awareness campaigns promoting appropriate infant and young child feeding practices.
Speaking during the meeting, Arale commended the Katsina State Government’s commitment to strengthening healthcare services and fostering effective partnerships, expressing confidence that the collaboration would further improve immunisation coverage, nutrition and primary healthcare delivery.
Samaila also underscored the importance of community participation in sustaining health interventions, describing the project expansion as a demonstration of CGPP’s commitment to addressing local health challenges.
She added that the initiative would help consolidate gains made in polio eradication while improving access to essential healthcare services for women and children across the state.
