Towards increasing the health potency of pregnant women and new born children, the Rivers State Government in collaboration with Saving One Million Lives (SOML), a Federal Government health care initiative, have flagged off the 2021 first round – Maternal New Born and Child Health Week with a declaration of free service charges on all maternal and child-birth activities in the state.
Speaking while flagging off the state-wide programme at Isiokpo, the headquarters of Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state, last Wednesday, Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Primary Healthcare Management Board, Dr Harry Agiriye, said that pregnant women, including HIV-pregnant patients would enjoy free healthcare delivery service charges in all state-owned health institutions during the period, and enjoined all pregnant women to attend their antenatal medical routines in government health centres free of charge to improve on their health potency and safe delivery.
According to him, the decision was the position of the state government taken towards improving healthcare service delivery, and encouraged women to avail themselves the opportunity of the free medical services to improve on their health and take good care of their new born babies.
He said the choice of Ikwerre LGA for the flag off was borne out of the commitment and support given to the development of healthcare service delivery in the LGA and the state at large.
Also speaking, a representative of SOML, Dr Pauline Green, said SOML was a Federal Government healthcare programme designed to drive the health indices on maternal and Child birth, adding that over 800,000 pregnant women and 200,000 children under the age of seven die every year from sicknesses that can be stopped by a simple correction.
“SOML is to stop our mothers and children from dying, let our mothers go for HIV screening, go for their antenatal care service, give their new born babies Vitamin A, ensure that they sleep on mosquito-treated bed nets to stay alive,” she stated.
She assured of the continued support of the organization on all issues relating to mother and child healthcare in the state at all times.
In his goodwill message, a representative of the National Healthcare Planning and Development Agency, Dr Imoh Ukpong, said if all the preventive measures enumerated were adhered to, the nation would have brighter, healthy future, and commended the efforts of the state government towards improving the mother and child health immunization indices.
He promised that the agency would support the state in the areas of technical support as well as supply of some of the needed medical consumables.
Earlier in his address of welcome, Chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Area, Hon Samuel Nwanosike, thanked the state government and the Primary Health Care Management Board for choosing the LGA for the 2021 first round of New Born and Child Health Week flag off.
He opined that the programme was an indication of the commitment of the state and federal governments to lay strong foundation for the nation’s future, saying that any nation which fails to plan for its future has no basis of existence.
According to him, the learning from the programme would afford women of the LGA opportunity to take care of their children so they can live healthy lives.
The Tide reports that the climax of the event was the symbolic administration of Vitamin A and other interventions, as well as community sensitization on MNCH week by the state health educator.

By: Akujobi Amadi