Bauchi targets 1.3m children,300,000 pregnant women for free healthcare

From Ahmad Mohammed Bauchi

One million three hundred thousand (1.3 million) children under the age of five year and 300,000 pregnant women are expected to receive free health and nutritional interventions in Bauchi state.
Wife of the Bauchi State Governor , Hajiya Mohammed Abubakar stated this when she flagged-off the Maternal Newborn and Child Week 2018, at Yelwa Domiciliary Clinic Yelwa yesterday,
Hajiya Hadiza , said that the MNCH week is a strategy approved by the National Council of Health and World Health Organisation (WHO), to improve the health and nutritional status of children and women.
Wife of the Governor said that the week which is a bi-annual event supported by child welfare organisations such as UNICEF, would deliver comprehensive package of free cost but high impact health and nutritional interventions during this round to pregnant women and children under the age of five years.
She stated: “These interventions include vitamin A supplements, deworming tablets, and immunisation among others which have all been proven to reduce under five morbidity and mortality from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhea, pneumonia and measles. This week is also an opportunity to raise the community awareness of the importance of key households practices”
Hajiya Hadiza encouraged pregnant women and all parents to cooperate fully with the healthcare workers by bringing out their children during the exercise so that they can receive the full benefit of the intervention.
The Executive Chairman, Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (BSHCDA), Pharmacy Adamu Jahun, said the activities for the MNCH week would be carried out at designated points within the 323 wards in the state, with two Primary Health Care (PHC) centres per ward.
He said that the intervention would also include screening for malnutrition, Birth Registration and promotions of other child protection services like handwashing. exclusive breastfeeding and so on.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Zuwaira Hassan, enjoined pregnant women and all mothers to retain their cards to fully enjoy the intervention and to take care of the cards for documentation.