in FCT, Nasarawa, Gombe, Ekiti states
The Federal government has flagged -off the ‘Together for Healthy Families in Nigeria project” a Rotary-led initiative aimed at reducing maternal and newborn deaths due to pregnancy-related complications in the targeted states of FCT, Nasarawa, Gombe and Ekiti states.
Similarly, the German Government has handed over to the Nigerian government, the Maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response (MPDSR) platform that would help the country track maternal, newborn and child morbidity and mortality at National and sub-national levels.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the key intervention for improving maternal, perinatal, and neonatal survival is understanding the number and causes of deaths. Systematic analyses of overall mortality trends, as well as events and contributing factors leading to individual deaths, can identify health systems barriers and inspire local solutions to prevent such deaths in the future.
Speaking at the flag-off of the event yesterday in Abuja, Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire said that the project will contribute to the reduction of maternal and infant mortality in Nigeria through scaling up of cost-effective high-impact MNCH intervention.
He stated that the ministry on April 13, 2016, gave the mandate on this to Rotary International with respect to maternal and child health and child health project on family planning, obstetrics quality assurance and capacity building which was implemented through the Rotary Action Group for Population and Development now Rotary Maternal and Child Health under the previous grants.
Ehanire explained that the mandate was renewed on April 29, 2019, and since 2017, Rotary International Maternal and Child Health Project has successfully integrated obstetrics quality assurance into the maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response in the country.
He said, “The implication has been scaled up to all the 36 states and the FCT in public secondary facilities. To ensure timely response and reporting of data, Rotary International also developed an electronic platform for reporting MPCDSR data which be officially handed over to the Federal Government of Nigeria. This flag-off is a laudable event and I commend the efforts of the German Government for funding this new project to be implemented through the Rotary Maternal and Child Health. Rotary International has been working locally, regionally and internationally to combat hunger, improve health and sanitation, provide education and job training, promote peace and eradicate polio under the motto: Service above self.”
” It is also worthy of note to recognise the support of Rotary International in the development of the Maternal Perinatal and Child Deaths Surveillance and Response data framework by establishing the MPCDSR Platform as no network.ng for collecting, collating, analysing and disseminating data. The Federal Government of Nigeria has successfully hosted and migrated all data from the German hub to Galaxy backbone having obtained a_ certificate of Job completion. With this completion, Nigeria can track maternal, newborn and child morbidity and mortality at the National and sub-national level. There will therefore be a symbolic handing over of the MPCDSR Platform by the German Government to Nigeria to sustain implementation and use in the reduction efforts of maternal, newborn and child morbidity and mortality”.
Earlier, the District Governor, of the Rotary Club of Abuja, District 9125, Goddy Nnadi lamented that so many women in Nigeria die in the course of giving birth adding that the project will help the government address reduce child and maternal mortality in the country.
