* Targets over 100,000 pregnant women, 200,000 under 5 children.
By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
The Kwara State Government, through its Primary Health Care Development Agency, has flagged off the 2024 first round of the Maternal Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW), which is aimed at providing intensive high impact low cost interventions across Primary Health Care Facilities in all the 193 wards in the State.
The intervention will also help to reduce high morbidity and mortality among women and under 5 children in the State.
Speaking at the flag-off in Ilorin, the First Lady of Kwara State, Ambassador Prof. Olufolake AbdulRazaq, said the MNCHW interventions include birth registration, immunization, nutritional assessment, vitamin A supplementation, deworming and growth monitoring.
The First Lady stated that pregnant women will have access to antenatal care services that include free hematinics tablets and dose of anti-malaria drugs, stating that this intervention is part of the strategies of the National Council on Health, to improve Maternal and Child Health towards the delivery of high impact and cost efficient interventions to women and children in Kwara State.
She called on all stakeholders, service providers, community leaders, the media and especially, mothers and caregivers to ensure that their children are immunised, while urging them to support improved antenatal care and nutrition, among others.
Ambassador AbdulRazaq stressed that the support should not only be through this campaign but also in their respective spaces, emphasizing that most of the maternal and child deaths and morbidity are avoidable if preventive measures are taken and adequate care is available.
The First Lady pointed out that interventions like this, coupled with increased sensitisation about taking ownership of one’s
health and utilizing health care services could significantly contribute to the reduction of maternal and child mortality.
The First Lady therefore enjoined mothers, fathers, guardians, relatives and caregivers to avail themselves, their children and wards of these opportunities as we owe these children a duty to care and protect them, encouraging Religious and Traditional Leaders to work with the health workers to ensure the success of these interventions.
In her remarks, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina El-Imam, said health is everyone’s business and called on all stakeholders to support these programmes to reduce astounding indices on maternal and infant mortality.
In her welcome remarks, the Executive Secretary, Kwara State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Nusirat Elelu, described the MNCHW as another health intervention of the State government, adding that earmarked medical services would be made available in all the 193 wards of the State from 15th to 19th July, 2024 to ensure increased utilization of low cost and high impact interventions across the State.
Dr. Elelu disclosed that the outreach teams will move across nooks and crannies to reach eligible residents, stating that the maternal and infant morbidity indices were still high but the commitment of the State government is changing the narrative in the State.
“Kwara State has one of the lowest under-5 mortalities in the country according to the result of the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MCS)”, the Executive Secretary stated.
She stressed that the State Government is deliberate about issues related to mothers and children as evidenced in all the interventions executed across Ministries of Health, Women Affairs and Social Development.