… inaugurates Task team
By Onwa Ekor
As gains of the recently concluded five days workshop on Maternal and neonatal Mortality reduction Innovation Initiatives ( MAMII) in Cross River, organised by the federal government in partnership with the state and other relevant partners in the health sector, a Task Team has been inaugurated in Calabar.
The team which comprises of consultants and specialists in medicine including other relevant stakeholders, will drive the objectives of MAMII, while ensuring that maternal and neonatal mortality are reduced by 30 percent in 2030.
The state also witnessed the flagging off of the MAMII programme which Abi local government area, Cross River, stands out as the pilot local government area for the Initiative.
Inaugurating the team at the Big Qua Health Centre in Calabar Municipality, the Cross River Commissioner for health, Dr. Henry Ayuk charged members to be responsive and deliver on the mandate of crashing deaths associated with pregnant mothers and newborns in the state
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Ayuk, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Jonah Offor, said: “The responsibility of this committee of experts is to deliver our mandate and that mandate is the MAMII goals which we have launched today.”
According to him, “I am so particular about this task force because before me are consultants and specialists in medicine and other relevant stakeholders.
“It is indeed your responsibility to ensure that we achieve the goal of reducing maternal and neonatal Mortality in Cross River,” Ayuk charged.
He disclosed that at the cause of the workshop, strategic plans were developed to address the health needs of mothers and children, a feat which must be implemented.
The Commissioner added that part of the policies arrived at includes, seeing that healthcare remains affordable, accessible and at no cost to patients.
Representative of the Federal Ministry of Health, Alex Dachung, disclosed that MAMII represents a multi sectoral and people centred approach that seeks to address barriers, mobilise communities and promote sustainable practices that seek to safeguard maternal and child health.
“It is not just about service delivery but building trust, empowering communities with the right knowledge and ensuring that every family has the opportunity to thrive,” Dachung remarked.
For representative of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Mohammed Mohammed, stakeholders must drive the change to ensure that every mother has the opportunity to welcome her child into the world with love, safety and dignity.
“Every life is precious and every mother and child deserves access to highest standard quality of care, the statistics may look not too good but our collective commitment to improving health care services can and will bring about meaningful change,” Mohammed stressed.
Chairman of Abi local government, Hon Egbala Bassey, represented by his Chief Press Secretary, Dr. Eloi Ideba, assured of the council’s readiness to continue to partner with the team to achieve results.
According to him, “it is an honour to be selected as the pilot local government area in the state for the full implementation of the MAMII programme which exercise started through a facility tour and grey areas identified for solutions.”
Earlier, the Director General, Cross River Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Vivian Mesembe Otu, intimated that MAMII is about pregnant women and newborn babies, to ensure that a pregnant woman carries her pregnancy all through nine months without complications and at the end of the pregnancy, come out with the safe delivery of her child.
Otu who affirmed that what normally leads to complication is delay, maintained that MAMII seeks to address the challenge in order to crash the mortality rate.
The DG also added that certain challenges were identified during the development of the strategic plans which includes difficult terrain, poor attitude of workers and non functional emergency response system and community involvement, pointing out that these would be tackled urgently.
Highpoint of the event was the presentation of MAMII implementation design suite and plaque.
