By Nana Yahaya
Wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Muhammadu Buhari has called on states that are yet to flag off the Maternal and Child Health (MNCH) week activities for this year to do so for the benefit of women and children, noting that despite the significant progress made towards improving the health and wellbeing of women and children, more needs to be done.
Aisha made the call in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja by her Director of Information, Suleiman Haruna.
The statement said Mrs. Buhari, who spoke during the flag-off of the Maternal and Child Health Week in Jada, Adamawa State on Monday, was represented by Mrs. Grace Chamah.
She said the MNCH week is a bi-annual event to be conducted in all the 36 states and the FCT, with the aim of improving access and utilization of essential maternal and child health care services, which ultimately will contribute to reduction in maternal and child mortality.
“I am aware that Nigeria is one of the countries with high maternal and child mortality both at continental and global levels, and it’s also painfully true that some of the causes of deaths among these groups are preventable.” She said, adding that simple interventions such as increasing awareness about the importance of health and health care services, provision of routine antenatal care services, routine immunizations, de-worming of children and Vitamin A supplementation can significantly contribute to reduction of maternal and child mortality.
Aisha said the MNCH week provides a good platform for the delivery of these simple life saving interventions.
She commended Adamawa state and others that have flagged off the week, saying these states will witness improved health outcomes and called on those that have not, to do so for the benefit of their women and children.
Earlier during the event, wife of the Governor of Adamawa state, Mrs. Maryam Muhammad Umar Jibrilla Bindow said the MNCH week is a giant stride in the effort to checkmate all health challenges affecting mothers and their newborn babies.
She said the exercise is taking place simultaneously in all the 21 local government areas of the state “to avail us ample opportunity to have our children aged 0-59 months vaccinated against killer diseases.”
