The Enugu State Government has inaugurated a 30-man task-force team to tackle maternal and infant mortality through the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Innovation Initiative (MAMII) project.
The reports said that the MAMII project workshop, which began on Oct. 6, ended on Friday, with the inauguration of the task force to implement the project.
The members were drawn from health professionals in hospitals and health agencies in the state as well as health donor agencies and partners.
Inaugurating the team in Enugu on Friday, the state’s Commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu described the moment as symbolic, adding: “This development did not happen by accident”.
Ugwu said the inauguration followed the outcome of several weeks of articulation and work, especially the one week of co-creation document to be used to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths in the state.
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He added that under Gov. Peter Mbah’s administration, the state adopted a holistic approach towards healthcare delivery.
According to him, healthcare is being revamped from primary to tertiary level, while stakeholders at the community level should assist pregnant women and babies to access these healthcare facilities to reduce maternal and newborn deaths to zero.
The Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) National Lead Team to Enugu, Mr Abraham Ahmadu, explained that MAMII project team for the state would help to coordinate, monitor and drive multi-sectoral actions that would accelerate the reduction of maternal and neonatal mortality in the state.
Dr Ifeyinwa Ani-Osheku, Executive Secretary, Enugu State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, stressed that the initiative was geared at ensuring that “no woman in Enugu State dies from pregnancy-related causes”.
She noted that Nigeria had one of the highest burdens of maternal and neonatal deaths world over, pointing out that every 10 pregnant women that die, three die in Nigeria.
“This is the kind of astronomical figures that we have chosen to reverse.
“When it comes to under five mortality, it is said that eight out of every 1,000 children are unlikely to see their 5th birthday.
“Imagine that these children are the future leaders of tomorrow. That is what we seek to reverse,” she said.
She, however, called for collaboration of all stakeholders, assuring the Federal Government that the state would “surely surpass the MAMII project target”.
NAN