The Niger State Primary Health Care Development Agency has conducted a 10-day Basic Emergency Obstetrics and Neonatal Care training for 74 health workers drawn from the 25 local government areas of the state. The training was held in Suleja.

Addressing the participants, the Executive Director of the Niger State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Junaidu Inuwa, stated that the Basic Emergency Obstetrics Care training was aimed at equipping health workers with the skills needed to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity associated with pregnancy and children under the age of five, especially infants.

According to the Executive Director, the agency is working across primary healthcare facilities to ensure that every facility is equipped with the requisite skills to deliver basic emergency obstetrics care effectively.

Dr. Inuwa told the participants that they were carefully selected for the training and were expected to learn and return to their respective facilities to build the capacity of others around them for effective service delivery.

In his words, “For every 100,000 women who come for delivery, about 512 die. A woman should not die from pregnancy. Pregnancy is a thing of joy and not sorrow.”

The Executive Director further pointed out that the participants were selected for the training to enable them contribute their quota to humanity. He described the training as a valuable opportunity and urged them to pay adequate attention so they could apply the knowledge gained when they return to work.
Speaking with journalists shortly after the event, the Director of Community and Family Health Services, Dr. Hauwa Nna Tako Kolo, explained that the health workers would be trained on either BEmONC or Expanded Life Saving Skills.

Dr. Nna Tako disclosed that the training was organised for health workers recently employed under the GAVI Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to enable them conduct deliveries professionally.

One of the participants, who spoke on behalf of others, appreciated the agency for the opportunity and promised that they would leave no stone unturned in improving healthcare services at the community level.