UNICEF praises the Fathers for Good Health initiative in Bauchi State for mobilising men to improve child immunisation and maternal health

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has lauded the significant efforts of the Fathers for Good Health (F4GH) initiative in its drive to impact and improve healthcare challenges faced by residents of Bauchi State.

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Developed by UNICEF and funded by the Canadian Government, this initiative has notably encouraged more men to support and mobilise their women for clinic visits, routine immunisation, antenatal care, and improved hygiene practices within their communities.

Speaking in an interview with Arewa PUNCH while commemorating Fathers’ Day, George Eki, the Social Behaviour Change Specialist at UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, explained the initiative’s specific introduction.

Its goal was to ensure that children who had not received any form of vaccine were reached and immunised across the state.

To achieve this, UNICEF, in collaboration with the state’s Primary Healthcare Development Board, undertook a rapid assessment in two local government areas, Misau and Ningi.

“We went to find out by ourselves the reason behind the parents not allowing their children to be vaccinated,” Eki explained.

“It was quite interesting to see some of the underlying reasons why some parents were not vaccinating their children but increasingly, many of the respondents especially, mothers pointed out that the power to give consent to vaccinate a child rests with the fathers.”

He further revealed, “They told us that if we want their children to be vaccinated, then we need to work with the men to be able to give them permission to vaccinate their children and that was exactly what we did and we recorded huge success in this regard.”

The UNICEF Field Officer added that the group has successfully reached a total of 113 wards, mobilised 9,252 communities, and ensured 109,444 children were immunised with various routine immunisation antigens across seven LGAs in Bauchi State.

Eki further explained that F4GH now boasts 1,130 members, with a growing number of volunteers showing interest in joining.

He highlighted, “What this means is that in every LGA we work, there are 10 men in each ward meeting the fathers and convincing them to bring their children to health facilities for vaccination.”

He noted that the initiative is now mainstreaming nutrition, education, and child protection activities into its work.

It was quite interesting to see some of the underlying reasons why some parents were not vaccinating their children but increasingly, many of the respondents especially, mothers pointed out that the power to give consent to vaccinate a child rests with the fathers.

“This will enable them to address not only the issue of non compliance with vaccine uptake but all the related issues affecting children and mothers,” he said.

During a field trip with journalists organised by UNICEF to Misau LGA, Turaki Goje, a father who had once rejected vaccination, admitted his past ignorance and negligence.

“Members of the Father for Good Health support team visited my house at different times, but I chased them away each time until one day I decided to listen to them to receive their messages,” Goje recounted.

“After listening to them, I was convinced about their vaccination message, and I immediately allowed all my children that are within the immunisation ages to receive the vaccination. Today, I have healthy children and grandchildren in my family.”

He added, “In fact, I later invited them to my village where they enlightened the people there and they all accepted it especially, the women. We are now accepting any form of vaccination they bring to us.”

Goje also revealed that a reason for his previous rejection was the belief that there was “some kind of hidden agenda behind it because we thought these vaccination exercises only took place in the Northern part of the country.”

Nura Aliyu, a member of the Fathers for Good Health group, affirmed the initiative’s impact. He stated that before F4GH, there was significant resistance to polio immunisation, low attendance at antenatal sessions by pregnant women, and a high rate of home deliveries, which sometimes resulted in health complications.

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He noted, “Thanks to the Fathers for Good Health Initiative, people now recognise the importance of going to the hospital, particularly pregnant women, even our malnourished children have recovered. Before now, there was a lot of resistance to immunisation as most households were against immunising their newborns, and many of the pregnant women were not educated on the need to attend antenatal and giving birth in a health facility.”