FG, Taraba Govt Partner To Tackle Maternal, Neonatal Deaths in Taraba
By Lynn Adda
A five day implementation design workshop to address the underlying causes of maternal and neonatal deaths in Taraba State has commenced in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital.
The workshop which is holding at the Star Exclusive Hotel, is under the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative, MAMII, a Federal Government led initiative aimed at reducing maternal and neonatal Mortality rates in Nigeria.
Concerned by the growing trend, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate directed among others, the localisation of communities with high maternal and neonatal mortalities in Nigeria and conduct deep dive into contextual drivers of maternal and neonatal mortality in communities, explore opportunities and identity gaps to addressing the issue and work with community and relevant stakeholders to design context-specific solutions to holistically address issues and fill the identified gaps using the Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) principles.
The main purpose of the Jalingo workshop is therefore to gather stakeholders, including government officials, health professionals and community leaders to develop a comprehensive implementation plan for MAMII in the state.
It is also focusing on creating actionable strategies that address the specific challenges faced in the state and outline the roles of various partners and stakeholders.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Permanent Secretary, Taraba State Ministry of Health, Mr Harmony Chufor who represented the Commissioner of the Ministry, noted that maternal and neonatal mortality has impacted much in the lives of women and children, saying in his nearly two decades of medical practice, he was hoping that by now, the issue would have been brought to a zero level.
“But today we are here again to look at another initiative, MAMII, aimed at reducing maternal and neonatal mortality.
“It is my hope and believe that this one at this time will bring maternal and neonatal mortality to its bearest minimum because the target is feasible and the objective is also feasible because we are looking at the people who will go to the door steps of every woman that is pregnant in our communities and talk to these women so that they can take the right initiatives in taking care of the unborn babies and the babies later.
“I hope all of us seated here will have a very successful training so that we will go to the communities and fish out all these women that are pregnant so that we can reduce maternal and neonatal mortality”.
The Executive Secretary of the Taraba State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Tukura Nuhu, described the training as timely, urging the participants to pay adequate attention to the resource persons so that maternal and child mortality can be reduced drastically in Taraba State.
He however, decried the high rate of maternal deaths, calling on the government to deploy vehicles to the rural communities to transport pregnant women to health facilities.
The Executive Secretary used the forum to commend Governor Agbu Kefas for giving priority attention to the health sector, stressing the need for more collaboration in the interest of the state.
The State Coordinator of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency in Taraba State, Mr Peter Adamu represented by Mr Bala Uten Awudu, regretted that past efforts to tackle the menace did not produce the desired results.
He is however, optimistic that with the caliber of people at the workshop, by the end of the programme, everybody will know that the responsibility of reducing maternal mortality is a collective one and not for the Federal Government alone.
He appealed to stakeholders to work together to bring what he called the sad situation to an end in Nigeria.
The Regional Manager of MSI, one of the leading partners in the state, Mr Dauda Samaila, pledged that the organization will continue to support the state to reduce maternal mortality.
” We are here to also partner technically and also financially to ensure that this very workshop is of success at the end of the day.
” I have the belief that with the caliber of people I can see around, we are all going to contribute our quota for the success of the workshop “.
Also speaking, Mr Alexander Dachung who represented the Director, Family Health Department, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Binyerem Ukaire, stressed that no woman deserves to die while giving birth, adding that the health and well-being of mothers, newborns and children remain the cornerstone of national development.
He lamented that over the years, significant efforts have been made to strengthen the country’s health system and expand access to essential services, yet the challenges have remained especially at the community level where awareness, access and utilization of quality health care services sometimes is limited.
According to him, in the spirit of the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr President, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare through the leadership of Prof Muhammad Ali Pate has prioritized the addressing of maternal and infant mortality in the country through the use of innovations and high impact interventions.
“The MAMII initiative is therefore strategic and timely aligning with the goals of the National Representative, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent and Elderly Health approved strategy.
“The MAMII initiative represents a unique opportunity to strengthen collaboration, harness innovations and develop sustainable solutions that will improve maternal, newborn and child health.
“This workshop provides platforms for collective thinking where diverse stakeholders can share experiences, align strategies and cooperate practical approaches that respond to real community needs”.
Mr Reuben NWunuji, the Sector Wide Appreciation, SWAp Desk Officer for Taraba State, presented the objective setting for the workshop.
These will include among others, a deep dive into the communities to identify the real barriers causing maternal and neonatal deaths, co-create interventions to ensure that women don’t die from preventable causes and equally obtain commitment from the stakeholders towards effective execution of MAMII interventions in Taraba State.
At Monday’s session, facilitators, Dr Amos Tella from the SWAp Coordinating Office in Abuja and Pharmacist Reuben Nwunuji, the Taraba State SWAp Desk Officer, presented alarming statistics on maternal and neonatal mortalities, calling collective supports for MAMII to succeed with a view to addressing maternal and neonatal deaths.
