Profile of CHILD PROTECTION CONSULTANT, Nigeria (Dr. Uzodinma Adirieje)

Dr. Uzodinma Adirieje is a World Bank-trained Health Economist and Reproductive Health Advocate, and aHealth, Community and Nutrition Systems Strengthening consultant, professional manager; with core/greatest competences in Organizational/Programmes management, Research, Capacity Building/Trainings, Evidence-generation, Knowledge Management, Conferences/Workshop Meetings, and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of international development and global health, including primary health care (PHC), family planning and reproductive health, HIV and AIDS, nutrition and food security, immunization, malaria, energy/environment, women and community empowerment, gender and youth. Dr. Adirieje has been involved in child protection interventions in Imo and Lagos States for twenty years now, in line with the spirit of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). He is aware that child protection is the process of protecting individual children identified as either suffering, or likely to suffer significant harm as a result of abuse or neglect. He remains committed to promoting measures and structures designed to prevent and respond to such abuse and neglect since 1995.

In 1999, he wrote/published my book/pamphlet titled ‘Female Circumcision (Female Genital Mutilation or FGM): 40 Dangerous Effects Parents and Relations Must Know’ in 1999, which has been catalogued at the Media/Materials Clearinghouse of the Johns Hopkins University, USA, for worldwide distribution, as M/MC ID#: PL NGA 318. Uzodinma was the GAVI Consultant for routine immunization (RI) in Imo State during 2012-2014 under the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), during which he also promoted the elimination of FGM/C and child health protection and preservation. He visited 250 (two hundred and fifty) community-based PHCs/health facilities, trained and provided supportive supervision to Nurses, Midwives, Village Health Workers, Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs), Community Health Workers and community leaders in Imo State’s 27 (twenty seven) LGAs; and thereby directly supported/reached 4,860 health workers and stakeholders in the State. Several non-facility-based LGA and State MoH officials were also provided with technical assistance, to enable them perform their supervisory duties within the State and LGA health systems in the course of this assignment. This contributed immensely to the improvement in maternal newborn and child health reported in the State during this period.

Dr. Adirieje’s involvements in child protection and health include my 2001 lecture on ‘The Child and the Home’ delivered at the annual general meeting of Parent Teachers Association of Sunshine Nursery/Primary School, Aguda-Surulere. He was the facilitator for three batches of training on ‘Overcoming Maternal and Child Nutritional Anemia’ for community leaders and health workers in Badagry Lagos during 2008-2009; and delivered a paper as well as served as a panel member on ‘Mobilizing Resources for Better Child Health - the Health Sector Reform Approach’ during the 38^th Annual General and Scientific conference of the Pediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN) in Nnewi in 2007. As the National Programmes Coordinator of Civil Society for HIV/AIDS in Nigeria [CiSHAN], he led the home-based-care (HBC) interventions and campaign to stop the spread of HIV through FGM in Nigeria.

 
Uzodinma has been involved in developing, monitoring, adjusting (as may be needed) and reporting on informed action plans for such interventions as the ‘Health Sector Reform Advocacy Action Plan’ produced from the Nigeria National Health Conferences (NHCs), 2006-2009, ‘Imo State Multisectoral HIV/AIDS Monitoring and Evaluation Plan 2012-2016’, and ‘Care for the Chronically Ill: Towards Intensified HIV/AIDS Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support Services In Nigeria’. Uzodinma managed the implementation of the communication initiatives/components of CiSHAN’s HBC project to scale up gender sensitive HIV prevention services among children and adults, and scale up chronic HIV/AIDS treatment among adults and children in Nigeria to enhance child protection. He has designed and supported the design of appropriate and appealing FGM messages and communication as contained in my aforementioned book/pamphlet, lectures and school/community interventions ‘Using Vitamin A Supplementation Programmes as Opportunity to Advocate for the Elimination of FGM and other Harmful Childhood Practices in 7 Rural Communities and 8 Children’s Schools in Lagos State including Badagry, Alausa, Kirikiri, Egbe, Isheri Olofin, Ijeshatedo and Aguda’, during which my FGM book/pamphlet and other FGM information, education and communication materials were also distributed.

He was also involved in the development of similar messages and communication for HIV/AIDS, immunization and nutrition/food security; and has experience working with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) to include FGM/C awareness in its programmes especially through my role and participation in the National Conference of NGOs working on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in 2003. He also worked with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to execute the National Workshop on FGM in 2001 in collaboration with the FMOH; and under the Global Fund Round 9 (GFR9) to contribute to the reduction in HIV incidence and to mitigate the impact on women, children especially through FGM in 2010-2011.