160 men have been committed as a voluntary support group to promote and promote access to the provision of health services in the local Misau government area of ​​the state of Bauchi.
The men are operating under the initiative of Father for Good Health (F4H), a program backed by the Bauchi Field Office of the United Nations Fund for the United Nations (UNICEF).
The Parent Initiative for Good Health seeks to take advantage of the influence of parents within their communities to encourage broader acceptance and absorption of vaccines and other essential medical care services.
As Father's Day 2025 was recently marked, the positive impact of the Pather4health initiative has been praised by several communities that have benefited from the program in the last 10 months.
The beneficiaries are full of compliments by UNICEF for supporting the initiative, which focuses on involving parents in promoting positive health search behaviors, particularly with respect to maternal and child health, from conception to safe delivery in a health center, while immunization is not out.
In Misau LGA, several communities and beneficiaries of the shocking activities of the Father4health support group commemorated Father's Day to praise the initiative and ask for more volunteers.
The Unicef ​​Bauchi field office directed a team of journalists on a field visit to the LGA, where the Father4health support group is performing excellently in the promotion of the health services system, particularly in the areas of maternal, newborn and childhood health.
The team of journalists interacted with members of the Fathers for Good Health initiative, including a female supporter of the group that is a member of the voluntary community furniture (VCM), Aishatu Isa.
Nura Aliyu, a two -year -old father and a member of the parents group at Misau, talked about how things were before the initiative began.
He said that before the arrival of the initiative, there was a lot of resistance to the immunization of polyomyelitis, low assistance to prenatal sessions by pregnant women and many domestic births, which sometimes resulted in health complications.
According to him, “thanks to the parents' good health initiative, people now recognize the importance of going to the hospital, particularly pregnant women. Even our malnourished children have recovered.”
He stressed that, “before now, there was a lot of immunization resistance. Most households were against immunizing their newborns, and many pregnant women were not educated in attending prenatal or giving birth in a health center.”
“All these problems have changed, and people now exhibit positive health attitudes,” he said.
Another member of the group, Ibrahim Mohammed, said the members were usually dedicated to sensitizing parents in communities about the importance of improving their families' health by allowing their children to be immunized.
He also declared that the group is dedicated to ensuring that pregnant women attend prenatal care and give birth to health centers, adding that their efforts have given positive results.
Hajiya Aisha Yusuf, a group defender, said that, as a voluntary woman, she usually intervenes where parents cannot go due to religious and cultural barriers.
According to her, “we are working together to ensure that access to health services is approaching people, particularly those of rural areas. We are committed to education and defense.”
She revealed that the situation has improved significantly throughout the local government area, since people have accepted the activities of the support group and ensure that their women and children access the qualified medical care services in the facilities.
Turaki Goje, one of the beneficiaries of the activities of the support group, has now become a defender of access to the provision of quality health services in the local government.
According to him, “I have 20 children, apart from the grandchildren. I was one of the people who opposed me to the immunization of children because I grew up without receiving any form of immunization, and I'm still alive today.”
He added: “But members of the Pather4health support team visited my house several times. I sent them every time, until one day I decided to listen to them and receive their message.”
“After listening carefully, I was convinced and immediately allowed all my children to be within the immunization age to receive it. Today I have healthy children in my family,” he emphasized.
Turaki Goje praised UNICEF for the initiative and applauded the president of Misau Lga for adopting the program, which has had a positive impact.
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