PRESS RELEASE

The Kebbi State Governor, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu has called on development partners to provide more funding of primary healthcare sector in order to help reduce maternal mortality especially in the face of dwindling economic situation.

The governor said that international partners has an obligation to properly fund healthcare care system in line with their mandate due to paucity of funds in the country. He said the global institutions should do more in supporting the state and by extension Nigeria in addressing health challenges because the country according to him proudly pays her dues to the United Nations which is used in supporting other countries in their period of adversity.

He said ” Development partners do not like to hear this, we cannot solve this problem in a vacuum, we have to turn to global agenda”.

The Governor disclosed this as a Special Guest of honor at multi Stakeholder meeting on giving birth in Nigeria, catalysing accountability for maternal death in Kebbi State on Thursday,20/2/2020 in Birnin Kebbi.

He advocated for resorting to global agenda for sharing global prosperity and addressing challenges facing the world in general.

He said even as the state want to do more to further improve the Health sector , economic downturn has affected government policies and programmes in the state.

Bagudu explained that the State Government has expended collosal amount of money on the health care delivery especially at the primary health care level and called for more partnership with international donor agencies while stressing the need for localisation of nutrition programmes.

He suggested measures that could reduce maternal mortarlity”” protein intake can be increased significantly by localising nutrition programs rather than nutrition program that relies on importation of packaged foods””

Bagudu stressed the need to mobilize more resources and called on all stakeholders to put all hands on deck to address maternal mortarlity.

In her keynote address, wife of the State Governor, Dr Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu expressed concern over the alarming maternal mortarlity and child mortarlity indices recently presented by the National Demographic Survey for the state and called for a holistic approach in addressing the issue.

She therefore called on federal, state and local governments to declare state of emergency in public health and maternal death, adding that women should actively be involve in decision and policy making as it relate to public health, maternal and child mortality.

Dr. Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu revealed that maternal health should be key and right of every woman to this end. She advocated on the need for women to seek medication in various health facilities.

She explained that the poor indices on maternal mortarlity in the state was due to lack of education and the issue could also be improved if women in the rural communities are educated.

According to her an educated woman knows the importance of going to the hospital and deliver or ante natal.

She said some steps taken to increase female enrollment in schools included setting up of High Level Women Advocates and intensive advocacy she had embarked upon, involvement of wives of local government chairmen and councillors in all the 21 local government areas of the state to take key messages on health to them.

She also said medical cancer foundation educate the public on the need to go for cancer screening, and called for collective efforts in addressing the issue of funding and intensive training for traditional birth attendants (TBAs).

Critical stakeholders were engaged as panelists in the meeting where issues bordering on maternal death, causes, and solutions, the role of Government, Non Government organisations , traditional, religious community leaders and representatives of local communities, wives of local government council chairman, health practitioners, and other partner agencies bare their minds on the way out.

The program was moderated by Vivian Ihekweazu, Managing Director ,Nigerian Health Watch , Ugonna Ofonagoro, the head of Projects, EpiAFRIC and Bunmi Oyebanji, the program Manager, Nigera Health Watch.

Signed :
YAHYA SARKI
S.A. Media to Kebbi State Governor
20/2/2020