Bayelsa, UNICEF flag-off campaign on maternal, newborn mortality

Wife of the Bayelsa State governor, Dr. Mrs. Gloria Diri, has restated government’s commitment to revitalise primary healthcare facilities in local government areas across the state.

Mrs. Diri made this known during the flagging off of the Optimised Maternal Newborn and Child Health Week (OMNCHW) on Monday, at the Ompadec Field, Amarata, Yenagoa.

She noted that the programme would extend the coverage of key maternal and child health interventions to reduce maternal, newborn and under-five mortality across the state.

According to her, the overall goal of the OMNBCHW is to increase population coverage at low cost and promote utilisation of health facilities by pregnant women, encouraging them to have focused antenatal visits.

Mrs Diri said other strategies to achieve this goal will include immunisation, deworming of children, distribution of long-lasting insecticide treated nets, provision of family planning and birth control information services, among others.

She added that government was ever ready to create and adopt strategies to improve Reproductive Maternal, Newborn Child Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) in the state.

Earlier in his opening remarks, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Pabara Newton Igwele, said the burden of maternal and child morbidities in the state was high which mainly occurred during labour, delivery and immediate post natal period.

He stated that an effective means of reducing this burden is provision of preventive measures or early treatment to women and newborns at the primary healthcare centres.

Igwele assured that he would not relent in the pursuance of this cause as he remained committed to strengthening primary healthcare which is a major platform towards achieving universal health coverage.

The chairman, Bayelsa State Primary Healthcare Board (BSPHCB) Mrs. Victoria Denenu, said the OMNCHW affords women and children access to vitamin A supplementation, provision of iron folate to pregnant women, malaria prevention services, among others.

She commended the ‘Saving One Million Lives Programme for Results (SOML PforR)’ under the Ministry of Health, for their support, adding that the primary healthcare board was committed to giving greater attention to mother and child health needs in the state.

In his welcome address, the executive secretary, BSPHCB, Dr. Martins Bekesu, said simple interventions such as proper nutrition, sanitation, hygiene, therapeutic interventions for the management of diarrhea and pneumonia can save a major portion of under-five deaths.

He added that the board was resolved to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through primary healthcare-oriented interventions and maximising access to health services that are needed by the people of Bayelsa.

The state coordinator, World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Edmond Egbe, said the child health week would enable his organisation reach out to mothers and children in the rural areas.

Other development partners such as United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), in their goodwill messages, expressed enthusiasm to contribute to the success of the programme and other health intervention programmes.

Written By Chidinma Uchechukwumgemezu

Source: Today ng

Link: https://www.today.ng/news/nigeria/bayelsa-unicef-flag-campaign-maternal-newborn-mortality-364258/amp?__twitter_impression=true