OYO State government on Monday flagged off its Maternal, Newborn and Child Health week (MNCHW) to deliver highly cost-effective free services to address the main cause of death in pregnant and children under age of five years.
Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Azeez Adeduntan, flagging off the week, said the overwhelming Nigerian Health indices, especially those affecting mothers and their children, was the rationale of the week-long exercise.
He assured that the interventions are free and safe in all the designated health facilities in the state, urging mothers and caregivers to avail their children the opportunity.
Dr Adeduntan added: “Health personnel are already trained and are ready to deliver these interventions across the various communities; resources and other required commodities such as vaccines have also been made available.”
World Health Organisation representative, Dr Olufunmilola Kolude, said mothers should not take the exercise as a substitute to routine immunisation of their children.
Dr Kolude, who remarked that vaccination was protective of many childhood killer diseases, said vitamin A that the children will receive also promotes good eyesight.
Director-General of National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr Sani Aliyu represented by Dr Daniel Udukwue said described deaths of women in the reproductive age group and children as painful and thus the agency collaborating with other agencies to prevent transmission of HIV from mother to children.,
He declared “Nigeria is one of the countries with the highest incidence of transmission of HIV from mother to children. That is why NACA as an agency is targeting to test 20,000 women across three LGA it is working in. Beyond testing, we want to also link women who are HIV positive to various facilities in the state where they can get free treatment.”
(Nigerian Tribune)
