Edo tackles neonatal mortality

Wife of Edo State Governor, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, yesterday, flagged off the ‘Help Baby Survive’ initiative, aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality in the state.

As part of the new campaign, the state government is training health personnel from all medical facilities in the state to equip them with specialised knowledge to tackle neonatal deaths.

The programme is being organised by the Edo State Government and the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas (ANPA), in collaboration with the Edo first lady’s ‘Make No Pikin Die’ initiative.

Declaring the programme open, Mrs. Obaseki said Nigeria is second in terms of child death or neonatal mortality in the world after India, noting that the programme will change the narrative.

MEANWHILE, the state government has commenced the construction of the 7.2km Temboga Road in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area (LGA) of the state to decongest traffic around Ramat and its environs within the Benin metropolis.

Media aide to the governor, Crusoe Osagie, in a statement, said Obaseki disclosed this when he was led on an inspection of ongoing construction of the Edo Labour House Complex, in Benin City, by the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Odion Olaye.

The governor said: “We are finalising the design of Temboga Road; it’s about 7.2km to the end. The design is almost ready. Once they finalise with the design in the next few weeks, we will award the contract.