FG, Coca Cola, others launch $10.8m Safe Birth Initiative
The federal government in collaboration with the Coca Cola company and Medshare International on Friday launched the $10.8m “Safe Birth Initiative” program to control the maternal mortality rate in Nigeria .
Isaac Adewole, Minister of Health at the official launch ceremony in Abuja said that available data shows that over 53,000 women die annually at child birth and over 240,000 children die in the first 28 days after birth due poor facilities, poverty, illiteracy amongst others.
The minister stressed that the interventions of the safe birth initiative program covers provision of vital equipment, kits and supplies required for diagnosis and treatment in the antenatal, birthing and postnatal periods, training of Technicians and engineers for efficient handling of equipment to ensure sustainability.
He said “Nigeria losses $10,000 yearly to maternal mortality, 90 percent of these deaths recorded are avoidable but for lack of adequate facilities in the health centres, ignorance, and poverty”.
“However, the solution to this trend is to promote the improved primary health care in all parts of the country and collaboration provides the needed solution as it provides the required facilities to encourage safe delivery”.
Peter Njonjo, president, Coca Cola West Africa said that the initiative is aimed at ensuring that mothers and children stay alive after child birth adding that deaths of mother and child affect the entire society.
Njonjo stressed that there is need for government to do more to eradicate the several causes of maternal mortality.”We are working with the government to develop this initiative to promote the coming together of stakeholders to discuss and provide the lasting solution to these deaths”
“We want to make an impact on the maternal crisis in Nigeria by providing the needed equipment and building the capacity of the medical technicians”. According to Njonjo,the initiative also covers the repairs and reactivation of abandoned equipment identified in the public hospitals and deployed to service. “Several hospitals are littered with abandoned life-saving equipment that can be reactivated and deployed to service, there will be reactivation of old equipment at the target hospitals and training of engineering technicians from respective hospitals”, he added.
Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Senior special assistant to the president on sustainable developmental goals (SDG) said that the partnership is to ensure reduction by one third premature mortality from communicable diseases through prevention and treatment to enhance total wellness of mother and child.
She further stressed on the need to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services such as family planning, information and education and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programs.
She said “The government will continue to partner with key actors in the private sector to mobilize expertise and financial resource to support the achievement of the social development goals in Nigeria and the Coca Cola Safe birth initiative is an example of such partnership”
Cynthia Egboboh, Abuja