A 4-day National workshop on Maternal Mortality Burden in Nigeria, the need for paradigm shift towards community focused approach to Maternal health care has began in Kaduna, Northwest Nigeria.
Organised by the National Association of Community Health Practitioners of Nigeria, participants at the event who were drawn from across the country are brainstorming on the need to improving and promoting infant and Maternal health in the country.
In a welcome address, the host, Kaduna State Chairman of the Association, Comrade Ibrahim Lawal Suleiman gave kudos to the State government for its transformation agenda in the health sector , especially , as being the first to adopt full implementation of bringing Primary Health Care under One roof initiative.
He explained that the government had upgraded and equipped at least, one primary health care centre in each of 255 wards to ensure health care needs of the people at the grassroots should be applauded.
Comrade Ibrahim Suleiman explained that the government had brought hope to the hopeless and smiles to the community dwellers.
He acknowledged the improvement on human resources development but still appealed to the government to recruit more community health workers to bridge the existing gap to reduce Maternal Mortality rate in the State.
The Acting National Chairman of the Association, Alhaji Yakubu Abdullahi called for a sound legislative framework towards achieving the desired results in the nation’s health care delivery as well as attaining the target of 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
He urged the three tiers of governments to take the issue of community health seriously pointing out that there was still existing gap in the country’s health care delivery.
He commended governments of Kaduna and Adamawa for the recruitment of reasonable number of health workers to improve health care in their respective States.
Chairman House Committee on Primary Health Care, Yusuf Tanko Sununu and his Senate counterpart, expressed worry that despite the manpower development in the sector, the situation of Maternal Mortality in Nigeria remained the same.
They lamented the refusal by Practioners to be posted to rural communities, thereby giving room for quacks, saying that unless the practitioners accepted to serve there, the health delivery would continue to suffer.
The Lawmakers appealed to the Practitioners to see themselves as the hub in the country’s health care delivery system.
The event will feature presentation of Awards to those who have made their marks and contributed immensely to the development of health care delivery in Nigeria.
Adamu Yusuf