The Kano State Government says it has put in place all the necessary mechanisms to check maternal mortality to save the lives of women and children.
This is in its effort to prioritize the health of citizens and women in particular, thus the state Government the measure is paramount due to the growing need to tackle the menace.
The State’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf, stated this at a symposium to commemorate the 2024 Safe Motherhood Day, which is a global initiative annually marked on April 11 to raise awareness about adequate access to care during pregnancy, childbirth, and post-natal services.
He said the Government invested a lot through the recruitment of health professionals in the state to strengthen its commitment to women’s health.
The Commissioner represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Alhaji Musa Tanko pointed out that the Government is doing everything possible to change the past narratives in making sure a pregnant woman receives all pillars of care during and after pregnancy.
“These stages such as antenatal care, skilled and facility-based delivery, quality services, as well as postnatal care, family planning, postpartum family planning, and post-abortion family planning is assured”, Permanent Secretary.
Speaking earlier in her presentation, a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the College of Health Sciences, Bayero University Kano, Hadiza Ghaladanchi identified the three worst maternal health complications that contribute to the growing number of maternal mortality cases in the state as postpartum hemorrhage, preeclampsia/eclampsia and unsafe abortion.
Ghaladanci said the problem needs a concerted and collective effort by the immediate family, community, and health personnel at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels to ensure the safety of a pregnant woman and her child during pregnancy, delivery, and after delivery.
“Currently Nigeria has the highest number of maternal mortality cases in the World compared to other developed and underdeveloped countries, which Nigeria is contributing 28.5%.
So we need to do more addressing the situation by strengthening our healthcare facilities with sufficient funding, this is by prioritizing available data for action.
It is time for the system to be ready to implement all the changes to reduce maternal mortality in our dear state”, says Professor Hadiza Ghaladanchi.
The Head Specialist Maternal Newborn UNICEF and Child Health Kano Field Office, Saudat Abdullahi Bashir said they will continue to support the Ministry of Health in improving safe motherhood across the state.
“UNICEF support will surely help in changing the old narrative for the better”.
In his remarks, the Falakin Bichi Alhaji Abba Wada Waziri urged to increase their budgetary allocations for maternal mortality and accessibility to health centers in rural areas.
Waziri said the records of mortality of newborns and women at the pregnancy stage are low in the south compared to the data in the North, which shows that there is a need for the Government to do more in that area.
The theme of the 2024 celebration is “Investing in Maternal Health for a Sustainable Future”, which aims to emphasize the importance of long-term investments in maternal healthcare infrastructure, research, and education to create a brighter future for mothers and their children.