Only 10% of pregnant women in Sokoto deliver in hospitals – CS-SUNN

From Bashir Rabe Mani from Sokoto

 Only 10 percent of pregnant women in Sokoto State deliver their babies in hospitals or clinics, the Team Lead, Partnership and Collaboration, Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria, CS-SUNN, Shuaibu Musa Kafin-Gana, said on Thursday in Sokoto.

He made the assertions when he led  an advocacy team on a courtesy visit to the Sokoto State Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Tukur Alkali, to bolster support for nutrition across the state.

Quoting the 2023 National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS), Kafin-Gana said the situation calls for intensified efforts to promote safe and skilled childbirth across the state.

The meeting was part of a three-day engagement by CS-SUNN with relevant stakeholders to advocate for improved nutrition and the extension of maternity leave for civil servants in Sokoto State from four to six months.

Kafin-Gana said the engagement was also aimed at showcasing the progress recorded by Sokoto State in reducing the prevalence of malnutrition, brief government officials on the state’s current malnutrition burden, and advocate for the release of funds for child nutrition programmes.

He expressed concern over the rising rate of anaemia affecting more than one million children and  mothers in the state.

According to him, greater efforts are needed to encourage women of childbearing age to deliver in hospitals, clinics, or under the care of trained birth attendants within their localities in order to safeguard the lives of mothers and newborns.

Responding, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Alhaji Tukur Alkali, commended CS-SUNN for its efforts in the fight against malnutrition and anaemia in the state.

He said the Sokoto State Government had earmarked more than N6 billion for the rehabilitation of nine irrigation schemes across the state as part of efforts to enhance food security, increase food production, and generate foreign exchange.

Alkali said the investment was imperative because Sokoto State is naturally endowed with irrigable land, cash crops, and a variety of food commodities capable of supporting food production and economic development.

He assured the delegation of the ministry’s support and pledged to do everything within their capacity to promote initiatives aimed at achieving improved nutrition and food security in the state.

Members of the delegation included the Programme Officer of CS-SUNN, Muna Nzelibe; former Steering Committee Capacity Building Lead, Silas Spencer Ideva; State Ex-Officio of CS-SUNN, Rabiu Bello Gandi; and Executive Director of PCSDI, Sokoto State, Nura Bello Suleman Tangaza.

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