Akwa Ibom State Government has inaugurated a taskforce on Maternal and Neo-natal Mortality Reduction in the state.
The Taskforce is mandated to implement the Maternal and Neo-natal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative, MAMII, Roadmap document as part of measures to crash Maternal and Neonatal Mortality in the area.
The Document was put together during a 5-day training workshop for front-line health workers in Akwa Ibom State and other stakeholders on the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative, MAMII, organised by the federal government in collaboration with the State Ministry of Health.
The MAMII project, an initiative of the federal government, is a sector-wide approach involving federal, state, and local governments, as well as development partners and community stakeholders, designed to tackle maternal and neonatal mortality in the country.
National Coordinator, MAMII, Dr. Dayo Adeyanju, who presented the MAMII Implementation Design Document to the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Ekem John, said the Document contains identified causes of maternal and Neo-natal Mortality in the state and ways of mitigating them.
“The MAMII seeks to understand those barriers that lead to maternal and Neo-natal deaths. Implementation and clear action plan or roadmap, is what we have in the document and we have handed over to the commissioner. The aim is to crash maternal and Neo-natal deaths.”
On the choice of Akwa Ibom State as one of the benefiting states, Dr. Adeyanju, said the state has three of the identified 172 high-burden local government areas across Nigeria with high rates of maternal and Neo-natal Mortality.
“Although these LGAs make up only 20% of the total number of LGAs in Nigeria, they account for up to 55% of Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate. The country contributes 30% of the global maternal deaths which the President finds uncomfortable and said we need to exit that kind of status.”
Commissioner for Health, Akwa Ibom State, Dr Ekem John, noted that the high rate of Maternal and Neo-natal Mortality is of great concern to the state government pointing out that the state government has put measures in place to ease childbirth and curtail Maternal and Neonatal Mortality in the area.
Dr John mentioned some of the government interventions to include provision of emergency ambulance services, model health centres, health insurance scheme and free cesarian section as well as delivery kits to pregnant women.
The Commissioner, who said Pregnancy and Child birth was not a death sentence, noted that many pregnant women die due to ignorance and their patronage of unskilled birth attendants.
“We have a lot of avoidable maternal and neonatal deaths. That’s why we are collaborating with the federal government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which aligns with the ARISE Agenda of Governor Umo Eno, to kick out maternal and neonatal deaths of of the state.”
Dr John advised pregnant women to register for antenatal care at only government-approved health facilities to take advantage of government medical programmes and ensure safety of mother and child during child delivery.
Development partners and other stakeholders including WHO, UNICEF, Traditional Birth Attendants, Unions in the health sector, traditional and religious leaders, all pledged their support in ensuring the success of the MAMII initiative aimed at eradicating Maternal and Neonatal Mortality in the state.
Meanwhile the Commissioner for Health, Akwa Ibom State, Dr Ekem John, has inaugurated a taskforce on Maternal and Neo-natal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative, MAMII for the state.
The commissioner said members of the taskforce are charged with responsibility of implementing the MAMII Implementation Design Document and Roadmap.
Dr John noted that the committee was not a money making venture but an opportunity for them to make impact in the state by working to eradicate maternal and neonatal mortality in the state.
“Their term of reference basically includes taking steps to mitigate and ensure that all factors that promote maternal and neonatal deaths will be eliminated and identify those salient factors and work with the government to eliminate those factors and make sure our women can deliver without any issues.”
The Commissioner named the Executive Secretary of the Akwa Ibom State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Eno Angela Attah, as the Coordinator of the Taskforce with other members drawn from the academia, representatives of development partners, women, Traditional Birth Attendants, TBA, unions in the health sector, as well as religious and traditional leaders.
