An international NGO, Alive and Thrive (FHI 360), has trained 20 Monitoring and Evaluation Officers on the National Health Management Information System (NHMIS) tools in Lagos.
The three-day training was in collaboration with the Lagos State Government to equip the officers on the NHMIS tools for data collection and reporting.
Head of Health Statistics, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Mrs. Flora Awosika, said the objective of the training was to build the capacity of participants on the Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) indicators.
“We have been able to put the health workers through on the new version of the NHMIS tools for data collection, collation, and reporting of MIYCN data. The NHMIS tools are registers used to collect data starting from health facilities to the state level, and this data is used to monitor the growth of children starting from birth to age five. This stage is the most critical stage of a child, and the indicators will help us to know if they are growing well, stunting, or underweight,” she said.
She also commended Alive and Thrive for supporting the State on its program on infants and mother nutrition.
The Monitoring and Evaluation officer for Lagos Island Local Government Area, Mrs. Zainab Agbalaya, who commended the organisation for the training, said that infant and maternal health were pertinent to a healthy society.
“This training is a very good one regarding generating data for MIYCN intervention in Lagos State. Capturing data for infant feeding is usually not something we actually give importance, but with this training, it is going to get better when it comes to data and reporting what is going on in facilities and communities,” she said.
Also, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of Champagne Foundation, Mr. Hassan Yussuf, said the training would go a long way to improve the knowledge of health officers.
“Most of our data are not accurate because some officials don’t know how to fill it on the NHMIS tools properly. This training has further increased our knowledge, and it will have a positive impact on our work,” he said.
Participants were selected from Alimosho, Epe, Lagos Island, Badagry, Epe, and Apapa local government areas of the State.