Health
Dr Adebimpe Adebiyi, Director of Family Health Department (FHD), Ministry of Health, has called on the Federal Government to declare a ‘state of emergency’ on maternal health, to reduce maternal mortality rate.
In a report made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja, Adebiyi decried the poor state of maternal and neonatal health care in Nigeria.
According to the report, 33,000 women have lifetime risk of pregnancy, childbirth or within two months of childbirth in Nigeria.
“One million under-five death happens annually in Nigeria, contributing 11 per cent to the global burden.
“The global development target is to reduce global maternal mortality rate to less than 70 per 100,000 births,” it added.
According to Adebiyi, to achieve the maternal mortality rate target, Nigeria must reduce maternal deaths by more than 90 per cent by 2030.
She explained that the progress rate was slow and lacked proper political commitment; the government must focus on implementation and predictable disbursement of funds, to fast track the developmental goals.
She stressed the need for a road map for the government and all stakeholders to follow.
Adebiyi noted that government must first declare a state of emergency on maternal and neonatal deaths in Nigeria.
She maintained that there must be steady fiscal commitment to women’s health and girl child education, adding that strategic partnerships, women’s empowerment and proper data collection will assist in solving problems.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, said that the Federal Government was determined to reduce maternal mortality rate from 576 per 100,000 births in 2013 to 288 per 100,000 births in 2022.
The minister, supported by Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state and other key stakeholders in the health sector, launched the policy with a view to sensitising relevant stakeholders on the need to overcome impediments.
Ehanire added that the policy aligned with existing policy documents is expected to guide the implementation of key priority steps at the state and community levels.
He noted that other sub-sector policies, strategies, guidelines and initiatives were in place to help achieve the national goal of reducing maternal mortality rates.
The minister, therefore, called on state governments and the FCT Administration to commit themselves and implement national policies on maternal and newborn health care. (NAN)
-Sep 24, 2019 @ 14:24 GMT |
Tags: Expert urges FG to declare ‘state of emergency’ on maternal health
