The UK Department for International Development (DFID) said it spent N4 billion in supporting 52, 393 pregnant women in Zamfara State through its funded Child Development Grand Programme (CDGP) from 2014 to date.
Mr Tanko Muhammad, the State Team Leader of the CDGP in the State, made the disclosure in Gusau on Wednesday.
He spoke at a Roundtable Discussion with members of the Academia, Media and Civil Society Organisations organised by the Save the Children International an International NGO, which held at Jaiz Hotel in Gusau.
TBI Africa.com said the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the CDGP is a DFID-funded project implemented in Jigawa and Zamfara States in Northern Nigeria by the Save the Children, an International NGO.
It is aimed at supporting pregnant women with cash of N4,000 monthly each, to take care of their babies for a period of two years.
The main target of the CDGP programme was to ensure effective child care, growth and development.
Tanko said that 52,393 pregnant women across 527 communities from the two local government areas of Anka and Tsafe of the state had so far benefited from the programme, which started in 2014.
“In the Anka LGA, we supported 19,534 women activities in the 194 communities, while in Tsafe LGA 32,319 women across the 333 communities benefited from programme,’’ he said.
Tanko commended the chairmen of Tsafe and Anka LGAs for supporting social protection activities in their areas.
He said the programme was aimed at supporting pregnant women and nursing mothers, especially those in rural communities to take care of their babies considering the level of poverty at grassroots.
Also, the Communication, Mobilisation and Advocacy Officer of the Programme, Mr Nura Muhammad said the meeting was to review various programmes and to discuss with stakeholders on ways of ensuring the sustainability of the programme in the state.
Muhammad said the programme has been engaging NGOs and other major stakeholders to ensure that the state government signed and implemented the Social Protection Policy for the benefit of vulnerable groups in the state.
He commended the support and commitment given to the programme by the Media and Civil Society Organisations in the state.
Earlier, the State Chairman Steering Committee of the CDGP, Alhaji Kabiru Muhammad decried low commitments in the engagement of development partners in the state.
Muhammad, who is the Permanent Secretary, Zamfara State Ministry of Budget and Economy Planning, had said: “The state has 16 DFID support programmes.
“But, sadly as I am speaking now, we only have four DFID projects currently running in this state.’’
He commended the Save the Child for organising the meeting, saying that the Social Protection Programme is a collective responsibility and therefore, all stakeholders must meet time to time to review issues affecting it.
