KEKE COMMUNITY PROJECT

The absence of a Health Care Centre within Keke community aggravates the challenges the women face in terms of accessing health facilities and commodities. Keke community is on the outskirts of the state with limited health care facilities and poor or most times absence of government infrastructure like schools, pipe-borne water, roads and electricity. To this end a demand creation approach was adopted by Girl Child Concerns to conduct advocacy to the local government to provide a health care centre and to sensitize the community on the need to advocate for and make use of a health centre.

Specific activities of the project included; advocacy visits to the local government officials, community and ward leaders;  community awareness programs for adolescent women on the importance of availing health services during pregnancy and other services for themselves and children, other services rendered by health centers;  Advocacy visits to the village head to champion a community initiative that will compel husbands to allow young mothers to access RMNCH services; Sensitizing older women (mother in-laws) and local mid-wives on the importance of encouraging younger women to avail the RMNCH services in the health centre and ANC. The project goal was to Increase access to RMNCH services for adolescent mothers in Keke B community of Chikun Local Government of Kaduna State.

Almost a year of unrelented Advocacy has finally started yielding positive results as the village Head of Keke donated part of his palace to be reconstructed, renovated and used as a clinic for the community. On her part the chairperson of Chikun Local Government Hajia Hadiza Ladi Yahuza during a visit to the community with GCC officials, supported in the renovation of the facility. She commended Girl Child Concerns for sustained advocacy and health awareness/ sensitization and health spaces offered to the people. She said she had also submitted the sample of polluted water from Keke which was reported to her office by Girl Child Concerns to the commissioner of water resources for analysis. Based on the report of water challenges she received from GCC, The Chairperson further pledged the sinking of an additional borehole to address the water shortage and poor water sources faced by the community. Already work has started on that. The Chairperson was optimistic that the Community will get a permanent Primary Health Care Center and also pledged to post medical personnel that will provideprofessional RMNCAH services at the clinic to the people of keke community.