Healthcare Agency Donates Drugs To LG

The National Primary
Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) has donated drugs to the 17 local government areas in Enugu State to improve the health of mothers and children.
The South East Zonal Director of the agency, Dr Ngozi Nwosu, made the donation last Tuesday as part of the first round of the 2014 Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week in Enugu.
Nwosu said the week was an initiative of the Federal Government to improve the health of mothers and children by increasing routine immunisation coverage and encouraging the utilisation of routine health services.
She said the programme included immunisation, Vitamin A supplementation, birth registration, family planning services, de-worming, health education, sensitisation on household practices, and growth monitoring, among others.
“The government is grateful to the development partners that have been collaborating with it in supporting this programme,” she said.
In his goodwill message, Gov. Sullivan Chime of Enugu State said the state government was passionate about health matters, especially for new born babies and pregnant women.
The governor, represented by the Commissioner for Health, Dr George Eze, said the state government insisted that no woman should lose her life trying to bring another life into the world by upgrading health facilities in the state.
“A lot of money had been voted into the renovation of district hospitals and the issues of workers’ needs are being addressed for motivation,” he said.
He urged mothers and pregnant women to visit the health centres for proper check up as well as bring their children for immunisation to save their lives.
The National Coordinator of the NPHCDA, Dr Dorothy  Nwodo, said exercise was one of the objectives of maternal and child healthcare services and a strategy to improve the utilisation of health care services.
She said the agency had begun the use of high impact intervention through the provision of Vitamin A, insecticide treated nets, health education on breast feeding and how to wash hands properly.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Director of Public Health in the state ministry of health, Dr Paulinus Osai, urged mothers to take it as their responsibility to go to health centres for free medical attention and vaccination.
Osai listed other free health services to include malaria drugs, insecticide treated nets, de-worming drugs and tetanus toxide for pregnant women, among others.
A dietician in the ministry, Mrs Henrietta Ugwu, showcased a variety of nutritional foods to be given to children and mothers, some of which were sweet potatoes, millet, guinea corn, rice, beans, breast milk and soya beans, among others.
In his remark, the Deputy Chairman of Enugu South local government, Mr Sunday Ogbdo, commended the governor for re-positioning the health sector in the state.

L-R Anglican Archdeacon, Prisons and Police Chaplaincy, Ven. Jonathan Agbo, Anglican Archbishop of Enugu, Archbishop Emmanuel Chukwuma and Vicar, All Saints Church Enugu, Ven. Honest Nwosu, during a news conference on the 4th session of the Anglican 15th Synod in Enugu, yesterday.