RSG Votes N25,000 For Pregnant Women

The Rivers State Government, has made provision to pay the sum of N25,000 to each pregnant woman who patronises any of the state government -owned health facilities across the state.

This, according to Dr Akuro Okujagu, was a means through which the state government intended to facilitate patronage of its health facilities, while also using it to check the trend of maternal mortality in the state.

Dr Okujagu who is the Director, Public Health in Rivers State Ministry of Health (RSMOH), stated this last Friday during a lecture presentation titled ‘the full implementation of Rivers State Reproductive health service law of 2003’ organised by network of reproductive health journalists, South-South zone in collaboration with IPas Nigeria in Port Harcourt.

Okujagu, however, explained that the N25,000 wouldbe paid to only pregnant women who access the services in the government-owned heath facilities from antenatal care through delivery to postnatal.

He explained that amongst other things, the aim was to check patronage of traditional birth attendants, which he said was bound to be one of the causes of an increase in maternal mortality in the state.

According to him, most women who access ante natal care the government hospital do not deliver there and only present themselves to the hospital when there are complications.

In her presentation, the desk officer, safe motherhood, Mrs Amachree Mikiai gave statistics on the number of pregnant women who access the state government-owned health facilities.

Statistics, she said showed that out o 237,114 which is 80 per cent of our target, pregnant women estimated to register for ANC services last year, only 120,990, which is 62.8 per cent came for ANC services.

‘Among these, only 11,878 which is 10 per cent of them delivered in our health care facilities. This reveals a gross under utilisation of our services”, she stated.

Sogbeba Dokubo