Date: 2018-02-27

26th February 2018 Today the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA) and its Founder-President, H.E Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki, hosted high-level courtesy calls by representatives of Johnson & Johnson and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to the WBFA’s Mamacare program and Her Excellency's residence in Abuja.

The combined visiting group attended a Mamacare antenatal class held at Lugbe PHC, Abuja, before the meeting at H.E Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki’s residence, which was also attended by Professor Mokuolo, Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Ilorin, Dr Andrew Mbewe of the World Health Organization, and representatives from both The National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) and the Nursing & Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN).

The aim of the visit is to analyze the ongoing success of both WBFA programs - Mamacare and Emergency Obstetrics and Newborn Care (EmONC) - whilst assessing the prospect of further development and scale-up. The scheduled meetings encompass MamaCare Antenatal Care (ANC) Sessions in Abuja and Ilorin, technical and advocacy meetings with the Kwara State Ministry of Health, a meeting with staff and beneficiaries of Sobi Specialist Hospital, the formal opening of the new skills laboratory at The General Hospital, Ilorin, by H.E. Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki, a Courtesy Call on the Emir of Ilorin and visits to the Governor of Kwara State and the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly.

H.E Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki commented at today's courtesy call:

"I am delighted to welcome Joy Marini and her team from Johnson & Johnson and Dr. Hauwa Mohammed, Nigeria Country Lead, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, to visit our WBFA programs this week."

"This visit and shared work comes at an important time - less than a week after UNICEF's watershed report into infant mortality worldwide showed the scale of the problem facing Nigeria and much of sub-Saharan Africa."

"That report supports the evidence from our programs: that midwives save lives. As the Inaugural Global Goodwill Ambassador for the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) I am proud to advocate for the role that midwives play as the safe pair of hands, a great continuum of care and counsel for respectful maternity care."

"Working with Johnson & Johnson and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, I believe that we can build on our successes and transform maternal, adolescent and infant health in Nigeria. We can thereby create models which can be replicated around the world."

"We are also committed to working with the National Association of Nigerian Nurses & Midwives (NANNM) and the Nursing & Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) in fostering the continued training of new midwives who we believe are essential personnel during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period of mothers. We, therefore, look forward to the commissioning of New Skills Lab at the General Hospital Ilorin, which would further enable the development of midwives within Kwara State."

H.E Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki is the Wife of the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Founder-President, Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA); and Inaugural Global Goodwill Ambassador, International Confederation of Midwives (ICM).