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Tag: Maternal

  • Experts push for maternal, child deaths reduction

    Experts push for maternal, child deaths reduction

    All hands should be on deck to ensure that Nigeria reverses its data on perinatal deaths  experts in feto-maternal medicine and other allied stakeholders have said.

    According to the Association of Fetomaternal Medicine Specialists of Nigeria (AFEMSON) President, Prof Olufemi Kuti, Nigeria is one of the 26 countries yet to record reduction in maternal mortality, as stated by the Millennium Developmental Goals (MDGs).

    He spoke at the maiden edition of the association and its General Meeting and Scientific Conference.

    The event, with the theme  ‘Reducing maternal and peri-natal mortality’ held at the  Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja.

    Kuti said: “There was a 44 percent global reduction of maternal mortality, from 588, 000 in 1990 to 303,000 in 2015. It is however sad that Nigeria was one of the 26 countries that made no progress.’’

    He said the reason his association is canvassing for everybody to be involved is because with a total of 58, 000 maternal deaths in 2015, Nigeria is currently the leading contributor of maternal deaths in the world, being responsible for 19 percent of the global maternal mortality burden.

    “In figurative terms, this is like two planes crashes per week with 500 people on board each plane. For every maternal death, there are at least 14 perinatal deaths. The  situation warrants the declaration of a state of emergency to address such colossal loss of young Nigerian women and babies. The most unfortunate part of this disaster is that more than 90 percent of these deaths are avoidable, given the right attitude and commitment of all stakeholders.

    ‘’AFEMSON believes that the cooperation of women organisations, religious bodies, and national and international aids agencies and most importantly the political will are vital in reducing this carnage.

    “The sub-themes are chosen to help in improving the quality of care and identifying avoidable factors in maternal and peri-natal deaths. Fetal monitoring is to provide a good opportunity to update specialists on the 21st century methods of peri-natal care to help reduce the current high stillbirth rate in Nigeria,” said Prof Kuti.

    Former  Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko, who was the special guest of honour, said from experience and the success of ‘Abiye’, political will and public financing were vital to the attainment of Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria and the developed world, being that maternal and perinatal care are part of.

    Dr. Mimiko, who was given a commendation award at the event, said political leadership should muster and develop the needed political will and deplore public fund towards Universal Health Coverage.

    Drawing copious references from data and reports of global and national agencies on the Gains and Challenges of Universal Health Coverage, Mimiko said players and policy makers have all agreed that, “Universal Health Coverage delivers substantial health, economic and political benefits across populations,” which means that “public finance must be deplored to the pursuit of coverage” in other to reap associated health, economic and political benefits.”

    He added: “Universal Health Coverage, as has been said earlier, is a goal.

    “Movement towards it must be incremental in coverage and in benefit package. Since matching resources with health needs will always be a continuous exercise, setting priority becomes unavoidable. Every nation moving towards Universal Health Coverage will require an irreducible minimum health benefit package. Most will start from the most cost effective interventions like immunisation and the need of vulnerable groups like maternal and child health. Maternal health is doubtlessly a cost-effective intervention.

    “Beyond the economic dictates of investment in it, maternal health is a moral imperative. Giving birth, is a process of perpetuating the human race. It is a divine instruction. Genesis 1:28 states: ‘’… be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth…”

    Mimiko, who referred to various  interventions of his administration, said women, children and adolescents must be given priority in universal health coverage as they are the most vulnerable of the population.

    He added that the attainment of the health target of the SDGs, “is inextricably tied to universal health coverage”.

    Mimiko, who traced his achievements in the health sector to his conviction that maternal and perinatal deaths could be prevented, if the society paid attention to delivering affordable health care, said: “Working with other stakeholders, I put in place processes that have to a large extent proved that even in resources challenged settings like ours we can post reasonable outcomes in maternal and perinatal death reduction.”

    Mimiko added: “As posited in Centre for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS), report on the first year of his government’s Abiye’s safe motherhood initiative, progress in universal care is possible with right leadership. I root out traditional birth attendants. I empowered them with new source of livelihood and income.

    “We put together the Agbebiye (Safe Birth Attendant) programme, which is essentially to incentivise through cash, training (in alternative vocation) and start-up microfinance, referral of pregnant women to designated public facilities and ensure delivery at such facilities. They are, therefore, given dignified exit out of the trade of maternity services. The programme started in February 2014 and as at December 2015, there has been 14,802 referrals of pregnant women by Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) and Mission Home Built Attendants (MHBA) to Public Health facilities. Of these, there were 29 sets of twins, 13 sets of triplets and one set of quadruplets.’’

    He continued: “This brings me to the issue of health financing. Public versus social health insurance financing for universal health coverage (UHC) is an issue. But, it is well established that there is no single path towards Universal Health Coverage. Variants occur due to many factors of history, social cohesion, prevalent socio-political preferences etc. One must however emphasise the need for increasing public expenditure in health care.”

    Mimiko said like Prof David Heyman, Head of Global Health Security, Chatham House, puts it, “by its very nature, (Universal Health Coverage) creates a larger role for the state in ensuring a free health financing system that market alone cannot provide. Market cannot be effective driver of heath care.

    “This is what United States is learning the hard way by the controversies surrounding its healthcare system. This is perhaps why it is the one and only high income country of eight countries in which maternal mortality rate has been on the rise. It is reported to have recorded an increase in maternal mortality rate of approximately 26.6 percent from 2000 to 2014. Could this dismal picture be the consequence of promotion of market dictates over public funding of health care? Time will tell. An improved maternal health outcome also implies some reduction in peri-natal mortality.”

  • Reducing maternal and child mortality rate

    SIR: At a recent gathering of health-oriented Non-Governmental Organisations, under the aegis of Mothers and Beyond International with the support of the UK Department for International Development (DFID), fearful details about the status of the health care delivery system of Nigeria were revealed.

    Between 80 and 85 percent of health related issues in Nigeria affect women and children. Nigeria was declared 189th worst nation on some basic health indices. About 200 of every 1,000 Nigerian children die from malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhoea before their fifth birthday. Only five die in America.

    Maternal mortality is higher in women living in rural areas and among poorer communities; the maternal mortality ratio in developing countries in 2015 is 239 per 100,000 live births versus 12 per 100,000 live births in developed countries. Young adolescents face a higher risk of complications and death as a result of pregnancy than other women.

    A woman’s lifetime risk of maternal death- the probability that a 15 year old woman will eventually die from a maternal cause- is 1 in 4900 in developed countries and 1 in 180 in developing countries, but in countries designated as fragile states, the risk is 1 in 54; showing the consequences from breakdowns in health systems.

    Women die as a result of complications during and following pregnancy and childbirth, the major complications that account for nearly 75 percent of all maternal deaths are; severe bleeding (mostly bleeding after childbirth), in fictions (usually after childbirth), high blood pressure during pregnancy (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia), complications from delivery and unsafe abortion.

    Five women die of childbirth every hour in both rural and poor urban centres in Nigeria. This is because most pregnant women have little access to health facilities; are too young, especially in Northern Nigeria; do not space their pregnancies; or do not feed well. With fewer children, the food goes round, and the ravage of breastfeeding on malnourished mothers is reduced.

    Family planning facilities and delivery that can reduce maternal death are inadequate. Again, the Nigerian state fails to provide counterpart funding to complement the foreign donors. And sometimes, donated family consumables are abandoned by callous state agents. Most Nigerian women now seek alternative herbal medicine, not out of choice, but because the private hospitals are far too expensive, relative to government hospitals that lack requisite drugs, and keep them all day on the Out Patient Department benches.

    Meanwhile, the federal budgetary allocation to health is tapering year after year. Most of the paltry 4.13 percent allocated to health in the 2016 budget went to recurrent expenditure. Yet, less financially endowed African countries allocate way above 15 percent of their budgets to health care; Burkina Faso, 15.8 percent; Zambia, 16.4; Malawi, 17.1; Botswana, 17.8; and Rwanda, 18.

    The provision of the Nigerian Health Act of 2014 that at least one percent of the Federal Government’s portion of the Consolidated Revenue or Federation Account Allocation be directed to health care is observed in the breach.

    Government policies must create an enabling environment for increased local production of drugs, equipment, and other medical consumables. Section 17(3) (d) of Nigeria’s constitution provides that “the state shall direct its policy towards ensuring that there are adequate medical and health facilities for all persons.” State actors, who as humans are also susceptible to illnesses, must address this provision with the passion it deserves. An appreciation of the nexus between health and economy better persuades the unwilling to make adequate budgetary allocation to the health sector.

     

    • Ademola Orunbon,

    Abeokuta, Ogun State.

  • Maternal, child mortality high in Nigeria, says Senator Tinubu

    Maternal, child mortality high in Nigeria, says Senator Tinubu

    Nigeria bears the burden of some of the world’s most devastating outcomes in reproductive, maternal and child health care, Senator Oluremi Tinubu said yesterday.

    She spoke at the commissioning of two constituency projects, Abimbola Jakande Obstetrics and Gynaecology Centre and Iyaloja-General Folashade Tinubu-Ojo Model Market, at Badore, by Model College, off Ajah Road, Lagos.

    Senator Tinubu said the centre would provide adequate medical care for mothers and children, noting that statistics showed that one in 13 women die in pregnancy or at childbirth.

    “Every day, Nigeria loses 2,300 under five years of age and 145 women of childbearing age which makes her the second largest contributor to the under-five mortality rate as stated by the United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

    “The alarming rate in which women die during childbirth is of great concern to me hence my desire to support the government’s effort in healthcare delivery is to reduce the rate of infant and maternal morbidity,” she said.

    Senator Tinubu said the market would provide opportunity for women to trade, adding that it will also encourage entrepreneurship.

    The senator said Lagos State was praised in a programme organised by the Federal Ministry of Health for being in the frontline on issues of Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) in Nigeria.

    “Neonatal mortality is 37 deaths per 1,000 live births and infants mortality is 69 deaths per 1,000 live births while nearly one in six children born in Nigeria dies before his fifth birthday,” she said.

    The Obstetrics and Gynaecology Centre is named in honour of the wife of the first civilian governor of Lagos State, Mrs Abimbola Jakande.

    Wife of the governor, Mrs Bolanle Ambode, said the essence of constituency project is to locate the specific needs of the people for direct intervention to complement the government’s effort at all levels.

    Mrs Ambode implored women to make use of the facility to improve their health, adding that the market is an empowerment tool to improve their livelihood.

  • Gombe to improve maternal, child health

    Disturbed by infant and maternal mortality statistics, Gombe State has declared its intention to strengthen the health system in order to improve the survival indices of women and children in the state.

    Executive Secretary of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Ahmed Gana made the commitment yesterday during the opening of a two-day meeting organised by Evidence for Action (E4A) to build the capacity of stakeholders in the state’s health sector.

    Gana decried the rising number of women and children who die in avoidable circumstances while promising government’s support and partnership in ensuring great improvement in maternal and child healthcare.

    “Government is determined to ensure that this situation is reversed; we are going to encourage this platform (E4A) to open up our health facilities because we are transparent and accountable.”

    “They (E4A) will be encouraged to come and see all that we have on ground in terms of our plans, budgets, our activities and even our challenges and limitations.”

    The National Coordinator of E4A, Aminu Magashi Garba said the training/meeting was aimed at forming a platform of the civil society, NGO’s and media that will enhance an accountability mechanism on budgeting system and advocacy on issues related to women and children.

    He said the platform’s advocacy would centre on timely release of funds, proper budgeting and tracking of budgets, among many others.

    He called for the cooperation of all stakeholders, especially government, in ensuring that the platform’s objectives are realised.

     

  • Ogun tackles maternal mortality

    Ogun tackles maternal mortality

    A resident of Ilaro, Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State Mrs Blessing Andrew from Kogi State has recounted how a quick medical intervention saved her and her unborn baby.

    Mrs Andrew said about a year ago, Mrs Idowu Ajiboye, a Surveillance Supervisor with the primary health care centre took her off the street of Ilaro on a Thursday afternoon and took her to the state hospital, Ilaro.

    Upon examination, it was discovered that she had started manifesting signs of onset of Eclampsia. She was monitored, treated and had safe delivery.

    According to health experts, pre-eclampsia is pregnancy condition that presents itself during the second trimester – about 20 weeks of pregnancy, with symptoms of high blood pressure and protein in urine.

    It is one of the leading causes of maternal deaths in Nigeria and since its cause remains largely unknown, it exact its toll more on pre-eclamptic women in rural settings because of the unpredictable nature of the condition as well as ignorance and delay in seeking prompt and appropriate medical care.

    Blessing told Southwest Report that her problem began when her husband, a staff of the Dangote Cement Manufacturing Company in Ibese, Ogun State, lost his job about four months into her pregnancy.

    She said her husband, being the major source of the family’s income, the daily bout of anxiety that seized her with regard to how the family could cope without means of livelihood, brought about the high blood pressure and then the hypertension.

    According to her, she never knew she was already having a life-threatening health challenge until the community health workers discovered her and intervened by encouraging her to seek appropriate health care.

    Mrs Andrew is one of the 11 women who benefited from the one year Pilot CLIP trial in Yewa South, Imeko-Afon, Remo North and Sagamu local govetnment areas and who also praised the project as it entered the definitive CLIP trial, which is its third phase.

    CLIP is a clinical study in Ogun State that seeks to prevent neonatal and maternal deaths during pregnancy and it is being executed by the Centre for Research in Reproductive Health in collaboration with the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu and the state government support from the University of British Columbia, Canada.

    The chairman, Local Government Service Commission, Olatunde Okewole, whose office also played a collaborative role in the project, said successful implementation of CLIP would go a long way towards reducing maternal and infant mortality.

    Okewole also praised Governor Ibikunle Amosun for what he described as his “untiring efforts at uplifting the health care delivery service in the state,” saying the “enabling environment and other plausible logistics provided contributed to the progresses recorded.

    He said: “CLIP is an international intervention project for Pre Eclampsia/Eclampsia which is being undertaken to test the hypothesis of implementing a community-based package of care for reducing pregnant women with hypertensive disorder.

    “It is also targeted at reducing death of pregnant women and improving pregnancy outcome in Ogun State.

    “In this connection, successful implementation of CLIP is therefore a strategy at achieving reduction of maternal and infant mortality as it formed part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) components to improve health care delivery.”

  • How to reduce maternal, infant deaths

    How to reduce maternal, infant deaths

    •USAID lists misoprostol, chlorhexidine as essential drugs

    Although Nigeria did not attain the Millennium Development Goal 5 target, which is improved maternal health, before it lapsed this year, the Federal Government and its partners are not resting on their oars in the fight against maternal and infant mortality.

    This was made known by Chief of Party, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Targeted States High Impact Project (TSHIP), Dr Nosa Orobaton, at a media parley in Lagos.

    He said mother and child can be saved if they have access to essential drugs outside the health facilities.

    Many women, he said, die daily because of preventable conditions, such as postpartum haemorrhage, also known as excessive bleeding after childbirth because they deliver at home rather than at health facilities where they can closely monitored.

    “Many infants also die from infections which affect their navel or umbilical cord,” he added.

    Orobaton said maternal deaths can be controlled by making expectant mothers, who deliver outside of health facilities without a health worker present take misoprostol and other drugs on the essential list. “Their babies too can have access to chlorhexidine and as such, prevent infections from attacking their navels,” he added.

    Misoprostol, he said, was on the essential drugs list and as such had been recommended for expectant mothers. The drug, hitherto, was not available outside health facilities.

    He said about 85 per cent of pregnancy progress to full term, but nobody knows which one of them would have safe delivery.

    This, according to him, is why women should be at a health facility to have safe delivery.

    The Chief of Party said the survival rate of expectant mothers, who take the drug, is 98.8 per cent, adding that Nigeria was one of many countries that adopted the drug to tackle bleeding after childbirth.

    He said: “Statistics from 2003 National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) shows that the percentage of women, who deliver with no one present (NOP) is high. One in five births is delivered with NOP. In 2008 it is 19 per cent. But in 2010, it reduced by five per cent to 14 per cent.

    “The study revealed that the prevalence of NOP is highest in the northern part of Nigeria with 94 per cent of all observed cases. Socio-demographic factors, such as women’s age at birth, birth order, being Muslim, and region of residence, were really associated with NOP deliveries. Mother’s education, higher wealth quintiles, urban residence, decision-making autonomy, and a supportive environment for women’s social and economic security were inversely associated with NOP deliveries.”

    He said there is limited use of skilled birth attendance (SBA) in most parts of Nigeria, adding that the World Health Organisation (WHO) said one in seven of women dying of maternal related causes across the world live in Nigeria.

    Orobaton said aside from bleeding, malaria is another disease affecting women, adding that anaemia is the next important secondary cause of maternal death.

    He said the proportion of women, who sleep under net, is not high enough because only 55 of 99 per cent of women who have insecticide treated nets (ITNs) actually sleep under them.

    Many of them usually complain that it is too hot while others say the smell is horrible, he added.

    He said the immunity of women is reduced when they are pregnant, adding that this make them more susceptible to malaria attack.

    “Malaria goes into the placenta to attack the foetus. It can cause stillbirth. If the baby survives it can lead to low birth weight. It can also cut short the life of the mother,” he said.

    He said the government is addressing the problem with presumptive treatment of the disease, saying: “At 16 weeks of pregnancy, the expectant mother is given malaria drugs to prevent the disease.”

    Orobaton said the national policy and the WHO recommendation are that expectant mothers, who are exposed to malaria attacks should be given the presumptive treatment.

    He said the percentage of teenage pregnancy in Lagos State is five percent, while that of the northeast is 40 per cent.

    The agency, he said, also recommended chlorhexidine for the prevention of infections in newborns, adding that the ointment should be applied on the baby’s umbilical cord/ navel with clean hands to prevent infection.  ”This should be in the mama kit. It is sold for about N200,” Orobaton said.

    He said magnesium sulphate is also on the essential drug list for expectant mothers, adding that it can prevent eclampsia. “Women can have eclampsia, but if they are in a facility it can be picked up in time before it becomes dangerous,” he said.

    Orobaton advised women to breastfeed their babies as it is a natural family planning method. “Breastfeeding mothers do not get pregnant. Also, their uterus is contracted by the prolactin hormones,” he said.

    He said family planning is a good intervention to reduce maternal deaths, adding that mothers would have recovered fully before getting pregnant for another baby, thereby preserve their lives from anaemia and other conditions.

    He said maternal and infant mortality rates are coming down but the country’s rising population makes it as though it is increasing.

    Orobaton said TSHIP is already getting result in Sokoto and Bauchi States, adding that everybody has been working together to reduce maternal and infant mortality.

  • Breaking the cycle of maternal and child deaths

    SIR: It is hard to believe when not directly affected, that globally, a woman dies from complications in childbirth every minute – about 529,000 each year. To Barrister Victor Laima such ordeal has been made a fact as he witnessed the death of three pregnant women within an hour in a medical centre in Gombe State. Such deaths are more peculiarly in developing countries like Nigeria. The direct causes of maternal deaths are haemorrhage, infection, obstructed labour, hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, and complications of unsafe abortion. There are birth-related disabilities that affect many more women and go untreated like injuries to pelvic muscles, organs or the spinal cord. At least 20% of the burden of disease in children below the age of five is related to poor maternal health and nutrition, as well as quality of care at delivery and during the newborn period. And yearly eight million babies die before or during delivery or in the first week of life. Further, many children are tragically left motherless each year. These children are 10 times more likely to die within two years of their mothers’ death. Another risk to expectant women is malaria. It can lead to anaemia, which increases the risk for maternal and infant mortality and developmental problems for babies. Nutritional deficiencies contribute to low birth weight and birth defects as well. A majority of these deaths and disabilities are preventable, being mainly due to insufficient care during pregnancy and delivery. About 15 per cent of pregnancies and childbirths need emergency obstetric care because of complications that are difficult to predict.

    A woman in sub-Saharan Africa has a one in 16 chance of dying in pregnancy or childbirth; in Nigeria the chances are one in every 13, compared to a one in 4,000 risk in a developed country. This glaring disparity is reflected in a number of global declarations and resolutions which have not only being signed by governments, but given full commitments in implementation.

    In September 2001, 147 heads of states collectively endorsed Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5: To reduce child mortality rate by 2/3 and maternal mortality ratio by 3/4 between 1990 and 2015. Strongly linked to these is Goal 6: To halt or begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. To ensure these efforts, the AU Abuja Declaration was signed to improve health sector budgeting to 15% of aggregate budget as well as the actualization of the National Health Act 2014 which compels the federal government to allocate at least one percent of the consolidated revenue fund into the Basic Health Care Provision Fund. Regardless of these commitments, the sector still remains underfunded, opaque and disintegrated.

    Access to skilled care during pregnancy, childbirth and the first month after delivery is key to saving the lives of Nigerian women and those of their children. As well as the need to ensure that medical staffs are well compensated, else the continual risk of capital flight as well guaranteed consistent and sufficient supply of drug, working equipments and erecting standard medical facilities especially in the rural communities that have none. The actualization of all of these requires the non-hypocritical implementation of the NHA 2014 by the government, improvement of funding to the Primary Health Care Development Agency, as well as effective monitoring, evaluation and public reporting of the expended funds and donations to the sector by the agency. Lastly, broad grassroots community sensitization by the government agencies, religious organisations, CSOs and other health development stakeholders on the importance of quality health services and practices, family planning, immunization, use of insecticide treated nets, etc, as well as their rights to engage and demand from their House of Representatives members, Senators, Governors, Community and Traditional Rulers, and the incoming administration their “Right to Life” which can only be guaranteed when their “Right to Basic Primary Healthcare” is provided for.

     

    Donald Ikenna Ofoegbu,

  • ‘Maternal mortality ‘ll be curbed’

    The wife of former Oyo State Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, Mrs. Kemi Alao-Akala, has promised that maternal mortality would be reduced if her husband was re-elected.

    Mrs. Alao-Akala, whose husband is seeking re-election on the platform of the Labour Party (LP), addressed reporters in Ibadan.

    She said: “I want to do something different this time. I am interested in maternal mortality. Our women should not die when giving birth. I will also look into the mother to child transfer of HIV. I will be interested in women’s welfare more than before.”

    Mrs. Alao-Akala vowed to prioritise women empowerment.

    Her words: “We have a lot of women in politics. Many of them have Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) This means women play a vital role in the society. I will ensure women are empowered. We have a lot of goodies for them.”

  • Free maternal/child care in Enugu

    Free maternal/child care in Enugu

    Enugu State Governor Sullivan Chime has said he is determined to make the Free Maternal and Child Health (FMCH) programme initiated by his administration the best of its kind in the country.

    He spoke while inaugurating 13 vehicles donated by the state government to the Ministry of Health for use in ensuring effective supervision and implementation of the programme in all local government areas.

    Represented by his Chief of Staff, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo, Chime revealed that the programme was introduced in 2007 to enable it to achieve the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the state.

    Chime noted that presentation of eleven Hilux vans and two Toyota buses would complement the recent employment of new personnel for the seven health districts in the state comprising 20 medical doctors, 150 nurses, five pharmacists and five medical laboratory scientists.

    Others, he said, included 10 radiographers, five medical record officers, 30 security and clerical officers, 15 drivers and five messengers.

    He recalled that approval has recently been given for payment of consolidated salary structures (CONMESS) to medical doctors in the system, adding that the rest would follow soon.

    The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr George Eze praised the vision of the Governor in paying prompt attention to the needs of FMCH, noting that Enugu State was the first to embrace the programme, a feat which has earned the state high ratings as far as health care delivery in the country is concerned.

    Dr. Eze further said the vehicles would ensure that services were extended to

    people in the rural areas, emphasising that ”no woman would lose her life because of inadequate treatment or attention during child bearing in the health districts of Enugu State.”

    He also urged the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the districts to reciprocate the government’s gesture by living up to their responsibilities in their areas.

    He commended the Department for International Development (DFID) and other agencies for their supportive roles to the FMCH programmes.

    Speaking on behalf of other partnering agencies, a representative of DFID, Prof. Eddy Nwobodo praised Governor Chime for placing high premium on the health sector.

    He revealed that the state government has spent the sum of N7 billion on the FMCH programme since its inception. He called for concerted effort to ensure the success of the programme at all levels.

    Top government functionaries and politicians, including Chairman of Health Management Board, Dr Arthur Chinedu Idoko and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr Moses Otiji, among others.

  • ‘Training traditional birth attendants can reduce infant, maternal death’

    ‘Training traditional birth attendants can reduce infant, maternal death’

    Wife of Lagos State Governor, Dame Abimbola Fashola has said training traditional birth attendants (TBAs) is in line with the vision of the state to reduce infant and maternal mortality during childbirth.

    According to her, training of this cadre of healthcare professionals in modern and essential skills in child delivery will support the government to achieve its goals.

    Mrs Fasholoa spoke at the First Convocation of TBAs at the Lagos State College of Health Technology.

    She said TBAs play important roles in the communities, stressing that they should be valued because of the services they render.

    Nigeria, she said, is among countries with the highest rate of infant and maternal mortality, adding that this should not be.

    Mrs Fashola said: “One of the obvious reasons for high infant and maternal death ratio (IMDR) is that expectant mothers in the communities prefer the services of TBAs who do not have formal knowledge on the modern and essential skills in child deliveries and other precautions.”

    The training of the TBAs, she noted, would help to reduce infant and maternal death significantly, and even to “zero level” because the exercise will be done more regularly and across the country.

    She enjoined the beneficiaries to put to use the skills acquired during the training to ensure qualitative delivery.

    Special Adviser to Governor Fashola on Public Health, Dr Yewande Adeshina advised the TBAs to operate within the capacity of their job.

    She said the hospital remains the best place for delivery, adding that TBAs can be helpful by referring critical cases to health facilities where expectant mothers can deliver unharmed.

    Dr Adeshina warned them to know their limit because unnecessary delay can cause preventable deaths of mother and child.

    Chairman, Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board (LSTMB), Dr Bunmi Omoseyindemi said the TBAs were trained through collaboration between the college and the board.

    The TBAs, he said, have been classified as Community Based Health Workers (CBHW) by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), stressing that their training was a strategy to improve healthcare coverage in the communities.

    “This is in line with the World Health Assembly (WHA) strategy on development of traditional medicine to improve health care coverage. This made the World Health Assembly pass some resolutions to recognise the importance of traditional medicine to provision of essential health care, especially to populations with limited access to healthcare system.

    “Traditional medicine was recognised as one of the resources of primary healthcare (PHC) services that could contribute to improve health outcomes, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” he said.

    Omoseyindemi said the TBAs are involved in assisting in the birth of newborn in developing countries but they are largely self-taught or informally trained.

    “They provide additional services, practical help and education as well as counselling to women. Although they cannot substitute for skilled providers, they can contribute to the survival of mothers and newborns by facilitating access to needed information, clinical services and support,” he said.

    He said their role usually reflects the culture and social structure of the communities, adding: “In some communities, a TBA may be a full-time worker who can be called upon and who expects to be paid in cash or in kind.

    Omoseyindemi said 110 TBAs graduated from the college after successful completion of their programmes.