The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), with funding from Global Affairs Canada and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, partnered with the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency and the state governments of Bauchi, Cross River, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Lagos, Niger, and Rivers to support scale-up of zinc and oral rehydration salts (ORS), from 2013-2017. The program focused on ensuring widespread availability of and affordability of optimal products, building provider and caregiver demand, and supporting the government to create an enabling environment for implementation.
Treatment coverage increased significantly since baseline—from 3 percent to 31 percent for zinc and ORS combined across the eight focal states. In the same period, the disparity in coverage between the wealthiest and poorest households decreased by about 70 percent; coverage was even higher in rural versus urban households by endline. More than 15 new zinc and low-osmolarity ORS products—including co-pack—were introduced to the local Nigerian market, resulting in a 70 percent drop in wholesale price. Private providers who received peer detailing were nearly twice as likely to recommend ORS and zinc compared to those who were not.
