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UNFPA urges FG to fight high fertility, maternal mortality

UNFPA urges FG to fight high fertility, maternal mortality
NAN-HG-8
By Mustapha Sumaila
Abuja, Oct. 30, 2017 (NAN) The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Monday advised Nigeria to fight high fertility, maternal mortality rate and migration problem to end poverty and boost prosperity in the country.
The UNFPA Country Representative, Ms Diene Keita, gave the advice at the 5th Annual Population Lecture Series (APLS) with the theme: “Achieving Demographic Dividend: Strategic Tool for Economic Recovery and Sustainable Development’’ in Abuja.
Represented by Mr Osaretin Adonri, the Assistant Country Representative of UNFPA in Nigeria, Keita said that if Nigeria wants to tackle poverty, enhance prosperity and promote sustainable growth as envisaged in Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, it was of prime necessity to address diverse population issues.
She said that problems including high fertility, high maternal mortality rate, migration and the special issue of youth development must be addressed.
“The theme of this year’s lecture is in line with the African Union Road Map on harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investment in Youth and the country’s road map on harnessing Demographic Dividend through Investment in Youth launched in July, 2017.
“It is relevant to the Nigeria Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (2017-2020), which in recognition of the risk factor of the high population growth rate in Nigeria prescribed the integration of population dynamics in development programmes.
“With a large population of young people accounting for 31.7% of the population, the country should urgently generate a large number of productive jobs for the growing working-age population.
“Also there is the need to adopt a strong social welfare system for the aged which will in the near future contribute substantially to the dependent population.
“The country must implement appropriate policies on small families, and capital inflow to grow the manufacturing bases and consumer markets, especially to support investment and employment growth in order to take advantage of its demographic situations for sustainable development,” she said.
However, the UN official lauded the federal government through the National Population Commission and other partners for their hard work, consistency and collaboration in ensuring the success of this year’s lecture.
She appealed to policy makers and programme managers to make the best use of knowledge about population issues at the APLS and similar opportunities for development planning; ensuring that policies and programmes were guided by data on population issues.
In her remarks, the Executive Director of Advocacy Nigeria, Hajiya Saudatu Sani, said that the time of planning on the management of Nigerian population was over and it was now time for implementation.
Sani also urged government to invest in the youth, women and girl child education to achieving demographic dividend.
The gender advocate advised the government to adopt the model used in China where there was huge investment on the youth for sustainable development.
“Nigeria must do that now, the time of planning is over, it is time to implement and government must do that now to fight poverty,” she said. (NAN)
MS/OFN/MST
Edited by Felix Nwadioha/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Maternal mortality: Nasarawa Govt adopts new health plan

Maternal mortality: Nasarawa Govt adopts new health plan
NAN-HG-1
Plan
By Awayi Kuje
Keffi (Nasarawa State), Sept. 28, 2017 (NAN) The Nasarawa State Government says it is adopting a new five-year health development plan to tackle maternal mortality and promote healthcare delivery services.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Daniel Iya, made this known in Keffi on Thursday at the opening of a five-day training workshop for the state health workers.
The workshop is tagged: “Nasarawa State Strategic Health Development Plan for 2017 to 2021”.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training is supported by Saving One Million Lives Initiative Program-for-Results (PforR) Project for Nigeria.
Participants are expected to be trained on the process of developing a good plan of strategic health for the next five years.
Iya urged the participants to come up with good development plan that would benefit the people of the state and Nigerians in general by addressing their health challenges.
The commissioner also enjoined health workers to adhere strictly to their professional ethics and shun corruption in order to tackle the health challenges of the people of the state.
Iya said that to get things right, the state health practitioners and other stakeholders must always be dedicated to their duties and must change their attitude towards improving the health status of the people of the state and Nigerians at large.
“Everybody is aware that Gov. Tanko Al-Makura administration is doing its best to improve on the lives and health status of the people of the state through building and equipping healthcare centres with modern facilities in the state.
“The state government is committed towards the provision of quality health care to the people; hence the need for the participants at this workshop to come up with plans at the end in order to improve on the health status of the people of the state.
“Health practitioners should also adhere strictly to the ethics of their profession and we need to work as a team to tackle health issues properly and adequately, especially at the grassroots in order to improve the lives of our people, ”he said.
He added that the state government is working hard to address the challenges facing the health sector and called on people to support government policies and programmes at all the time for the overall development of the state.
The commissioner restated the state government commitment to continue to key in to people-oriented policies that have direct bearing on the health of the people.
Dr Zainab Mohammed, the Consultant of the programme, urged the participants to apply their extra knowledge to enable them create a workable plan that would sustain the programme.
She also charged the participants to use the knowledge they would gain in order to improve on the health status of the people of the state.
Responding on behalf of other participants, Mr Sule Toma from the state Primary HealthCare Development Agency, commended the organisers and promised to use the knowledge gain during the training. (NAN)
AKW/AAB/MST
Edited By Adeboye Ajayi/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

FP will reduce maternal, child mortality – Official

FP will reduce maternal, child mortality – Official
NAN-H-7
Mortality
By Amina Ahmed
Bauchi, Sept. 27, 2017 (NAN) The Bauchi State Family Planning (FP) Coordinator, Hajiya Hajara Yahya, on Wednesday said that the use of FP contraceptives would reduce maternal and child mortality in the state.
Yahaya told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi that adherence to FP would ensure that mothers become healthy before getting pregnant again.
She said that the use of family planning would prevent some complications ahead of the next pregnancy and child birth.
According to Yahya, a survey conducted in 2015 showed that family planning takes only 2.2 per cent of utilisation in the state.
She identified religion, culture and poverty as some of the hitches against FP as it contributed to the low use of contraceptives in the state.
“The percentage of utilisation of family planning commodities is 2.2 per cent according to a survey conducted in 2015.
“Family planning saves live and reduce the burden of maternal and child mortality, the mother and child will be healthy during the planning years.
“Family planning is beneficial to the mother, such that the reproductive system will be ready to another baby, for the father, it also help plan for his family adequately and sufficiently.
“The child will grow in good health by having adequate breast milk and family planning also prevent the child from common childhood diseases,” she said. (NAN)
AE/KOLE/MST
Edited by Remi Koleoso/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

FCTA to engage 203 midwives to tackle maternal, infant mortality

FCTA to engage 203 midwives to tackle maternal, infant mortality

NAN-HG-7

Midwives

By Mustapha Sumaila

Abuja, June 28, 2017 (NAN) The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Primary Health Care Development Board says it will soon engage 203 midwives to address challenges of maternal and infant mortality in the territory.

The Acting Executive Secretary of the Board, Dr Matthew Ashikeni, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.

Ashikeni said that the FCT administration had received 203 midwives, transferred by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, under the Federal Government’s Midwives Service Scheme and Sure-P programme.

He said that FCTA had graciously approved it, for the midwives to be engaged and the board was working out modalities on how to absorb them properly.

He added that such midwives would be posted to rural areas where their services were needed to enhance maternal and child health care.

The secretary also disclosed that the board had concluded plan to renovate 230 health facilities across the FCT, pointing out that the renovation would be done in phases.

According to him, the primary health care under his watch is committed to achieve one primary health care per a political ward to ensure that people at the grassroots get access to health facilities.

“In the next few months, we will be activating three health facilities in each of the six area councils in the territory and make them functional.

“We shall be providing basic drugs and other essential services to make primary health care facilities perform effectively and efficiently,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ashikeni told NAN that his board was working seriously with major stakeholders to reduce the number of unimmunised children in the territory.

He appealed to parents to bring out their children and wards for the forthcoming vaccination against polio, which kicks off on July 8. (NAN)
MS/TO/MST

Edited by Tola Okinbaloye/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Agency to train 200,000 community mobilisers to tackle maternal, infant mortality

Agency to train 200,000 community mobilisers to tackle maternal, infant mortality

NAN-HG-6

Health

By Mustapha Sumaila

Abuja, June 22, 2017 (NAN) The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) on Thursday says 200,000 Community Health Influencers and Promoters of Service Providers (CHIPSP) will be trained to tackle maternal and infant mortality across the states.

The Executive Director of the agency, Dr Faisal Shuaib, disclosed this at the inaugural quarterly media interactive forum with journalists and civil society organisations in Abuja.

Shuaib said that the new plan was to raise the figure from initial 25,000 to 200,000 to urgently combat the rising cases of maternal and child mortality.

He explained that in each political ward, 20 women would be trained to carter for women and children in their immediate communities.

According to him, such women will be given necessary training to provide first aid assistance to pregnant and sick women as well as children in rural areas before referring such to health centres.

The director said that it would be reviewed after the four years programme and those that showed good skills among the mobilisers would be sponsored for further training.

“These people will also include Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) who will be working to assist women to check early signs or danger in pregnant women so that such can be evacuated to health facilities.

“We want to move away from a situation whereby unskilled workers will be assisting in delivery in communities,’’ he said.

Shuaib however regretted the failure of the Midwives Service Scheme (MSS) which he attributed to the midwives posted to rural areas.

He noted that most of the beneficiaries posted were reluctant to stay in villages, complaining that there are no basic amenities for them to work with.

Shuaib also disclosed that NPHCDA was trying to repackage and relaunch the MSS to serve communities better.

According to him, the agency had made a mandatory service for nurses and midwives graduating from school of nurses and midwifery to have one year compulsory service in rural areas.

Shuaib gave an assurance that the agency would work with other partners to reduce maternal and infant mortality to its lowest level. (NAN)

MS/JIE/MST

Edited by Julius Enehikehuere/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

FG tasks states PHC agencies on maternal, infant mortality reduction

FG tasks states PHC agencies on maternal, infant mortality reduction

NAN-HG-1
Mortality

By Mustapha Sumaila

Abuja, June 15, 2017 (NAN) The Federal Government has called on states and FCT Primary Health Care (PHC) agencies to redouble their efforts on reducing maternal and infant mortality in the country.

Dr Faisal Shuaib, the Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), gave the task on Thursday in Abuja.

Shuaib spoke at the inauguration of “Implementation of Primary Health Care Under One Roof’’ in a workshop with the Executive Secretaries of the state PHC agencies.

He explained that whatever various primary health care agencies were doing in states that did not reflect in reduction of deaths of pregnant women and children in their respective states were all efforts in futility.

He stated that Nigeria’s poor health outcomes in critical areas had shown in high death rate of pregnant women and children under the age of five in the country.

“We are expected to deliver on results and we will be held accountable for our performance and most important evidence of our performance will be seen in the reduction in deaths of pregnant women and children.

“I believe today’s meeting provides opportunity to further examine the challenges faced in our efforts to bring governance framework for Primary Health Care under one roof.

“This is our new commitment as the national council on health to ensure effective coordination for primary health care,” he said.

The executive director tasked all State Heads of Primary Health Care Agencies to open up on their challenges with a view to provide practical solutions to them at the meeting.

He emphasised that primary health care remains the foundation for making reasonable and sustainable changes to the poor health indicators, since it deals with most of the preventable deaths.

According to him, NPHCDA under his leadership would continue to work to bring the actual coordination and implementation of their mandates under one roof in practical ways.

Shuaib pledged to continue to work with states to strengthen routine immunisation, vaccine development, development partner support for PHC interventions and human resources optimisation, among others. (NAN)
MS/MST

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Maternal mortality: Sultan Foundation trains Katsina health workers

Maternal mortality: Sultan Foundation trains Katsina healthcare workers

NAN-HG-5

Sensitisation

Mai’adua (Katsina State), April 21, 2017 (NAN) The Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development has commenced an intensive training for healthcare workers on how to reduce maternal and child mortality in the country.

Alhaji Aminu Inuwa, the Secretary of the foundation, said this while addressing hundreds of participants in Mai’adua Local Government Area of Katsina State on Friday.

Inuwa said the foundation has selected Mai’adua local government as the area for the maiden workshop owing to the strategic position of the area due its proximity to border towns.

He said the foundation would collate the statistical analysis of the daily data of birth and death registration for proper planning.

“Only this local government was selected for the programme this year’’.

“We will also collect the data of pregnant women who patronised hospitals for pre- and post-natal care,” he said.

The scribe said the foundation would collaborate with relevant stakeholders on health to reduce the instances of maternal and child mortality through provision of drugs and enlightenment.

Inuwa called on husbands and parents to always allow their wives to be visiting hospitals and avail their children for routine immunisation.

Alhaji Musa Soro, the Sole Administrator of Mai’adua Local Government Council, assured of government commitment to ensure success of the programme.

He directed traditional rulers in the area to supply the needed information to the foundation to ease the process, stressing “we need your cooperation and understanding’’.

Alhaji Ahmed Diddiri, the District Head of Mai’adua, commended foundation for choosing the area for the programme.

He said traditional rulers would support activities of the foundation through ward heads and village heads for wider coverage and efficient implementation.

NAN reports that 630 wards heads and 31 village heads also attended the workshop. (NAN)

BKD/MST

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola