Members of Ijaw Youth Council at the celebration of United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse and illicit drug trafficking at the Banquet Hall of the Government House in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, last Friday

The Bayelsa State Gov
ernment has expressed its determination to partner with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and other donor agencies to make the health sector more effective.
The Commissioner of Information and Orientation, Barr. Esueme Dan Kikile stated this when a team of Targeted State High Impact Project, TSHIP, paid him a courtesy visit in his office recently.
Kikile noted that a lot still needs to be done in the health sector, especially in the area of primary health care in order to reduce infant and maternal mortality rates in the state.
He added that the state government would do everything within its limit to save the lives of children and pregnant mothers who are the most vulnerable groups in the society.
The commissioner, who commended the team for the successful application of Misoclear to prevent as well as treat hemorrhage in women who have just put to bed, and the Chlorhexidine Gel to prevent umbilical cord infection in new born babies, in Sokoto state, said the success recorded in Sokoto is an eye opener to Bayelsa.
On the strategic distribution of the drugs and dissemination of information on the availability of the drugs in the media, the Information Commissioner said the ministry would liaise with the Ministry of Health with a view to embarking on public enlightenment campaign to sensitise Bayelsans on the efficacy of the two medications.
Earlier, the State Co-ordinator of Reproductive Health in the State Ministry of Health, Mrs. Naya Suobo, who accompanied the team, said the NGO was collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Health and Save the Children Foundation on the use of  Misoclear and Chlorhexidine Gel to reduce infant and maternal mortality.
Suobo explained that Misoclear and Chlorhexidine Gel are safe, effective and affordable and can be used in both health facilities and homes with little or no side effects, noting that the manufacturers of the drugs are working in partnership with global health organizations and have WHO certification.
She used the medium to appeal to the state government to discourage people from using native herbs, especially on pregnant mothers and new born babies, stressing that their use has drastically reduced the rate of infant and maternal mortality.
She solicited government’s support to enable the organization distribute the drugs in the state.
Also speaking, the TSHIP team leader, Hajia Nafisatu Omar said it was important for the state government to key into the programme to reduce infant and maternal mortality rates in the states.
Representatives of the pharmaceutical companies that manufactured the two medications spoke about the efficacy of their products.