Date: 2016-10-26

The Kwara Government has set up a committee for the commencement of the Save-one-million-lives (SOML) programme in the state.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Atolagbe Alege, made this known at the inauguration of the programme in Ilorin on Tuesday.

Alege said that Federal Government in conjunction with the state government initiated the programme. He said that the Federal Government had disbursed funds for effective implementation of the projects in all the states of the federation.

"The initiative will be funded by the World Bank as credit to the Federal Government and given to state as grants," he said. He noted that the state's steering committee was due to travel to Abuja for final analysis on ways to implement the programme.

Alege implored members of the committee to ensure the success of the programme. Also, Alhaji Ibrahim Yahaya, Director, Planning Research and Statistics in the ministry, explained that committee would focus on maternal and child health.

Yahaya said that about one million women and children die yearly from preventable disease.

According to him, SOML is a bold step to improve the state of maternal and child health, and nutrition and population.

Dr Ibrahim Umar, SOML Programme Manager, added that the initiative would also help to improve routine immunisation, malaria control, improving child nutrition and elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV.

The steering committee included Dr Suleiman Alege, as the Chairman, Alhaji Ayo Yusuf and Hajia Riskat lawal, Head of Pharmacy in the ministry as members.

The Technical Consultative Group has Alhaji Yahaya Ibrahim, the Director of Public Health of the ministry and Dr Lawal Habib, Director Primary Health, as members.