The Kwara State Government has urged health workers in the state not to reject posting to rural areas with a view to improving the health status of the rural dwellers.

The Head of Service, Alhaji Dabarako Mohammed, stated this while declaring open this year International Women Day Celebration organized by the Women Committee of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Kwara State chapter at NLC Secretariat Ilorin, the State Capital.

Alhaji Dabarako described the theme of the programme entitled "Preventing Maternal and Child Mortality, thereby Promoting the Health of the Mother and Child" as a timely one, adding that health officers must accept and remain at their beats to help fight health related cases in the society.

The Head of Service stressed that the government would continue to educate the people while the health officers should help to sensitize the public on the need to visit health centres regularly, especially during pregnancy and should always avoid self - medication, fake and expired drugs.

He emphasized the State Government's resolve to provide adequate health care delivery across the state to alleviate people suffering.

Similarly, the acting Chairperson of the Organization, Comrade A. S. Apalando (Mrs.), appealed to the State Government and Leah Charity Foundation to give free Ante - Natal and Child delivery to women in the state.

She also solicited government's support to provide them with a vehicle to enable them to sensitize women on the need to access good health care delivery across the State.

The resource person, Dr. (Mrs.) A. M. Kareem of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, described maternal mortality as the death of women in relation to pregnancy and Child birth.

She pleaded with the Ministry of Health and particularly the State Government to domesticate health policies to enhance good health practices, noting that viable and sustainable health care delivery must be put in place to ensure peoples' health.

Mrs. Kareem enumerated the causes of high level of maternal mortality rate in the State and the Country at large to include too much bleeding, infections, hypertension at pregnancy related cases, prolonged labour, unsafe abortion, malaria, dearth of facilities, ignorance and poverty to mention but a few.