Taraba State has intensified efforts to curb maternal and neonatal mortality as stakeholders across the health sector converge in Jalingo for a five-day co-creation workshop to implement the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII).
The workshop, which began yesterday, marks a major step in the state’s commitment to ending preventable deaths during childbirth.
MAMII, launched earlier in 2024 through collaboration between federal and state health authorities, is designed to tackle systemic barriers to maternal care, including delays in seeking, reaching, and receiving medical attention, while improving coordination, access to essential commodities, and patient satisfaction.
The initiative adopts a Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) to strengthen service delivery, especially in rural areas where fewer than five percent of residents have adequate access to care.
Speaking on behalf of the Director of Family Health at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Binyerem Ukaire, and the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Dachung Alexander Bitrus, stakeholders emphasized that no woman should die while giving life.
“The health and well-being of mothers, newborns, and children remain a cornerstone of national development. MAMII is timely and strategic, aligning with the goals of the national Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent, and Elderly Health (RMNCAEH) strategy,” Dr. Bitrus said, commending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Health Minister Professor Muhammad Ali Pate for prioritizing maternal and child health under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Declaring the workshop open on behalf of the Taraba State Commissioner for Health, Permanent Secretary Dr. Chufor Harmony expressed optimism that maternal deaths can be drastically reduced through collective action.
Executive Secretary of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Nuhu Tukura, decried the high rate of maternal mortality and urged the state government to ensure that recently procured ambulances are deployed effectively to transport expectant mothers, especially from rural areas, to health facilities.
Facilitators, including Dr. Emos Tella of the SWAp Coordinating Office in Abuja and Taraba SWAp Desk Officer Pharmacist Ruben Nwunuji, presented sobering statistics on maternal and neonatal deaths but commended federal and state authorities for taking decisive steps to address the crisis.
As the workshop continues, participants are engaging in strategic planning sessions to design community-specific solutions, united by a shared vision: to make maternal and neonatal deaths a thing of the past in Taraba State.
