Yobe to spend N1.6bn on maternal, newborn complex, says Health Commissioner

The Yobe government is to spend N1.6 billion on the ongoing construction of a Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Care Complex at the Yobe University Teaching Hospital, Damaturu.

Dr Mohammad Gana, Yobe Commissioner for Health, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Damaturu.

He said that the project was initiated as part of efforts by Gov. Mai Mala-Buni’s administration to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity.

He said standard obstetrics, gynecologic and pediatric services would be provided in the facility.

Gana also said that construction work in 94 primary health care centres across the state were either completed or ongoing.

The state government, he said, had recruited 100 doctors and absorbed over 200 nurses and other health workers to man various health facilities across the state.

He said the state had also established and equipped child welfare clinics in primary, secondary and tertiary health centres across the state to enhance access to maternal and child health care services.

The commissioner announced that arrangements had reached advanced stage for the enrolment of people under the newly introduced equity fund, an aspect of the state’s Free Drugs Programme

Under the programme, Gana said pregnant women and children less than five, would be registered and premiums would be bought by the state government on their behalf.

He added that the state also introduced a robust maternal perinatal surveillance system to audit cases of maternal mortality and find sustainable solutions to them.

The commissioner said the measures put in place to tackle maternal mortality and morbidity in the state were already yielding results.

“ The most recent survey indicated an increase in the uptake of antenatal services from the previous less than 30 to 38 per cent to over 68 per cent.

“ Coverage of family planning has also increased by about 500 per cent. All these are a pointer to reduction in maternal mortality and morbidity,” Gana said.