By Oluwakemi Jonah, Lokoja.
The Kogi State Government in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare as well as other partners have concluded a five day workshop organized by the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAAMII) to curb maternal and neonatal deaths in the State.
The workshop which was held in the State’s capital, Lokoja, assembled more than 100 pregnant women, development partners, community representatives and other health stakeholders to implement a roadmap that will contain preventable maternal and neonates death in Kogi State.
At the workshop, which ended on Friday, the Commissioner for Health, ably represented by the Permanent Secretary Steven Momoh, reaffirmed the commitment of the current administration in improving child health outcomes.
He also reassurred indigenes of a strengthened health system for safe deliveries and better survival rates for mothers and infants across communities in the state.
Ahead of the workshop, vulnerable communities were identified, and strategies put in place to collect adequate data, educate pregnant women, and combat malnutrition responsible for high rate infant mortality.
The country lead of MAAMII, Deji Adeyanju stated “We have identified 172 local governments that contribute to 55% of maternal mortality in our country, one of them is Lokoja in Kogi State. That’s why we are here. When we understand all of it, we will be able to address the entire State”.
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On his part, the Sector Wide Approach ( Swap) Officer in Kogi State, Dr Emmanuel Bola Jonah affirmed that they are ready to go down to the communities “ We intend to go to five communities in Lokoja L.G.A, as the Local government selected as one having high mortality rate. We want to understand their believes, what they stand for and what is impeding them from assessing care”.
The initiative shows the federal government’s commitment to eliminating maternal deaths and improving health service delivery across the States.