Nigeria is committed to reducing maternal and newborn mortality to save lives. The country is also committed to retrain frontline healthcare workers with the aim to end maternity and newborn deaths.
Health Minister for State made these assertions while speaking on a State Radio programme on Monday in Abuja, marking this year’s World Health Day.
Emphasising on some of the maternal and new born initiatives of the government, the Minister revealed that the training of healthcare workers, as 120,000 frontline workers have been earmarked for training, while about 50 percent of this number have been trained already.
Dr. Iziaq Salako said to achieve this, the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative was developed as a mechanism to ensure that universal health coverage is achieved.
“If you look at one of the key deliverables of the Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare within the Presidential Priorities, is to ensure that by 2027, we reduce maternal mortality by at least 20 percent and reduce infant mortality by at least 15 percent. In order to ensure we do that, the professionals delivering these services must be well trained”, the Minister said.
Speaking further on ensuring equitable access to maternal and newborn care across the country, Dr. Salako said the President Bola Tinubu’s led government is intentional on expansion and development of primary healthcare centres.
“We are developing initiatives like MAMI (Maternal & Neo-Natal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative) which is specifically targeting high-budget local government with respect to maternal mortality rates”, he concluded.
