In April 2015, the Department of Community Medicine of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria, received the first tranche of monies for a new research project to study long-term outcomes following treatment in a Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) programme in Katsina State. The grant was awarded by ORIE (Operations Research and Impact Evaluation), a DFID-funded consortium of UK and Nigerian organisations.
ORIE undertakes nutrition research and evaluation to generate evidence on the operationalisation, cost-effectiveness and impact of a major DFID-funded six-year programme to implement and scale-up nutrition interventions in Northern Nigeria, called WINNN. ORIE also invests in strengthening the capacity of nutrition researchers working in Northern Nigeria, by providing funding to enable researchers to design and undertake their own research project with the ongoing support and guidance of a group of experienced international researchers. The Department of Community Medicine, ABU Zaria, was one of three successful bidders in a competitive bidding process in late 2014, which attracted thirty-two applications.