By Chris Chikelue
The Federal and State Ministries of Health has commenced the Anambra State version of the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiatives (MAMII) meeting and Healthcare Facilities visitation in Awka.
While declaring the 5-day event open which runs from September 22 to 26 225, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Obidike said that the reduction of the maternal and neonatal mortality rate will happen when healthcare givers see the need to carry out their duties effectively.He berated some healthcare givers for their nonchalant attitude to critical situations resulting in deaths and loses.
He, however, commended those who understood that they have been called to save humanity and have been in the front of the campaign to save lives, especially pregnant women who seek their services at their facilities on daily basis.
He gave an instance, “there was a situation where a pregnant woman was brought to a facility on a motorcycle with an emergency case, the doctor was with her for more than five to six hours in the Umueri General Hospital, Anambra East.
“When they entered the theatre, the woman had no pulse; she was given six pints of blood and when the doctor came out his clothes were definitely soaked to show what went on in the theatre.
“We would have lost the woman if we couldn’t act that fast and when I came in after I was called, the woman looked at me and smiled, then I saw a woman who just came back from the dead.”
Dr. Obidike assured that in Anambra State, and with what the government of Prof. Charles Soludo has been putting in place in form of tools for work, employment of health workers and the creation of blood banks in Primary and Secondary Healthcare facilities that cases of Maternal mortality has become a thing of the past.
In her opening remarks, the Desk Officer, Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) on the MAMII project, Dr. Obianuju Okoye, reeled out the objectives of the event, “The Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative(MAMII) is a federal government-led initiative aimed at reducing maternal and neonatal mortality rates in Nigeria.
“It seeks to introduce innovative solutions to address the underlying causes of maternal and neonatal deaths, focusing on areas such as access to quality healthcare and provision of timely medical interventions.
“On the Minister of Health’s directive on the MAMII nationwide programme, Dr Okoye said, “the Coordinating Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, has given the directive to localize communities with high maternal and neonatal mortalities in Nigeria.
“Conduct a deep dive into contextual drivers of maternal and neonatal mortality in the communities.
“Explore opportunities therein and identify gaps to addressing the issue while working with the community and all relevant stakeholders to design context-specific solutions to holistically address issues and fill the identified gaps using the Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) Principles”.
There was a deliberate structure of the visitation schedule on all the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Facilities in the state at the end of the day.
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