By Onwa Ekor
Cross River Primary Health Care Development Agency in collaboration with the State Ministry of Health as well as other partners, have flagged off Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) week.
The life saving initiative scheduled to kick off June 11 through June 15, will offer various services including the administration of all routine antigens for children aged zero to 15 months, introduction of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine for nine year old girls, the provision of multiple micronutrient supplements, iron and folic acid to prevent anaemia, as well as sulfadoxine pyrimethamine (SP) to protect pregnant women from malaria, including HIV, Tuberculosis screening, testing and counseling.
Flagging off the week-long program in Calabar, Wife of the Cross River governor, Bishop Eyoanwan Bassey Otu, charged parents, caregivers and community members to take advantage of the services provided through the program to boost their health needs.
“These interventions are free, safe and designed to protect the health of our families,” the Governor’s Wife said, affirming that, “a healthy child is the foundation of a healthy community and a healthy mother is the strength of a healthy nation.”
She maintained that the campaign remains cost effective and life saving initiative which is designed for mothers, newborns and children across all 18 local government areas of the state to protect, nurture and empower them.
Commissioner for Health, Dr Henry Ayuk, remarked that taking medical services as an outreach programme to the people remains one of the outstanding achievements recorded in the state health sector.
Ayuk who enjoined parents to ensure that their children maximise the immunization benefits, also appealed for more subventions to support the office of the First Lady in her outreach programme.
“In 2025, we had an estimated 400,000 outpatients attendance in our hospitals. About 20 percent of these were contributed by the outreach programme and the Governor’s Wife NGO contributed 65 percent of that number.
“If we are having a program that is contributing nearly 20 percent in the entire flow of patients that come in, then we should adopt it and make it a regular program to be supported,” Ayuk stated.
Director General of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Vivien Mesembe Otu, informed that many families across the state still face preventable health challenges that need to be addressed through timely access to essential healthcare services.
She further explained that it was in order to check such that maternal newborn and child health week poses as one of the most important public health intervention in the Agency’s calendar.
The DG who reaffirmed that her Agency would remain committed in ensuring that no mother, newborn or child is left behind, lauded the Governor’s Wife for her consistent advocacy for maternal and child health including other issues that have positive impacts on families and communities.
Chairman, House Committee on health and Member representing Boki 2 state constituency, Rt. Hon Hillary Bisong, applauded the Cross River government for launching hope, strengthening families and building homes through the program which he also reasoned, “provides opportunity to deliver life saving opportunities.”
Representative of WHO, Dr. Rebecca Babatunde, called for the spread of the program to the most remote communities as well as accurate data indicating numbers of children and mothers reached and life saved.
State coordinator of National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Christian Okechukwu and UNICEF representative, Dr. Hillary Ozong, in their separate speeches, commended the Cross River government for the political will to release funds in order to support the successful implementation of the MNCH week.
Highpoints of the ceremony were the presentation of packs and administration of vaccines by the wife of the Cross River governor, Bishop Eyoanwan Otu.
