According to a news report from the Nigerian Tribune, the Kwara State Government has announced its aim to reach 100,000 women, including pregnant women, and 200,000 children under five as it launches the weeklong Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Week (MNCHW). The initiative is designed to reduce the high morbidity and mortality rates among women and children.

During the flag-off ceremony in Ilorin on Wednesday, the wife of the governor, Ambassador Olufolake Abdulrazaq, highlighted that the MNCHW interventions will include birth registration, immunisation, nutritional assessment, vitamin A supplementation, deworming, and growth monitoring. Pregnant women will also have access to antenatal care services, including free haematinics tablets and doses of anti-malaria drugs.

Ambassador Abdulrazaq emphasised that this intervention is part of the National Council on Health's strategies to enhance maternal and child health by delivering high-impact and cost-efficient services to women and children in Kwara State.

The MNCHW is organised by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, State Primary Health Care Development Agencies, and the State Ministries of Health. Ambassador Abdulrazaq called on all stakeholders, including service providers, community leaders, the media, mothers, and caregivers, to ensure the complete immunisation of children, support improved antenatal care and nutrition, and extend their support beyond the campaign into their daily lives.

She noted that most maternal and child deaths and morbidity are preventable with adequate care and preventive measures. Interventions like the MNCHW, coupled with increased awareness about taking ownership of one's health and utilising healthcare services, could significantly reduce maternal and child mortality.

“I therefore enjoin our mothers, fathers, guardians, relatives and caregivers to avail themselves and their children and wards of these opportunities as we owe these children a duty of care and protection.

“I also wish to encourage our Religious and Traditional Leaders to work with the health workers to ensure the success of these interventions”.

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary, Kwara State Primary HealthCare Development Agency, Dr. Nusirat Elelu, said that programme is another health intervention of the state government, adding that earmarked medical services would be made available in all the 193 wards of the state from July 15th to 19th to ensure increased utilization of low cost and high impact interventions during the period.

“Outreach teams will move across nooks and crannies to reach eligible Kwarans”, she said.

Elelu, who said that the maternal and infant morbidity indices were still high, however, added that the commitment of the Kwara State Government is changing the narrative in the state, “as Kwara state has one of the lowest under-5 mortalities in the country according to the result of the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MCS).

“The Kwara State Government is deliberate about issues related to mothers and children as evidenced in all our interventions across health, women affairs and social development.

In his goodwill message, Dr. Emmanuel Eyitayo of the WHO commended the Kwara state government on the health week and other interventions on infant and maternal health. He also commended the wife of the governor for her support on health care development in the statement.

Also, the UNICEF representative charged the intended beneficiaries to participate in the programme and not to put the interventions to a waste, while he charged mothers to come out and present their children to improve health indices in the state.

The state Health Commissioner, Dr. Amina El-Imam, said health is everyone’s business and called on all stakeholders to support programmes to reduce astounding indices on maternal and infant mortality.