Bauchi State Primary Health Care paid visit to First Lady, Advocate for more Support.

FIRST LADY

In a renewed administrative plans, the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency has vowed to reduce the rate of maternal mortality and dead of new born children to 50% from now to 2021 in the State.

The Executive Chairman of the Agency Dr Rilwanu Muhammad made this known during a courtesy visit to the first lady Hajiya Aisha Bala Abdulkadir Muhammad in her office. Said the agency is a statutorily government established institution to provide essential health care services to individuals and families especially women and children.

Represented by the agency's Director of Primary Health Care, Alhaji Bello Mustapha said, the purpose of the visit is to solicit the support of her Excellency's office in promoting awareness and ensure effective emergency response to maternal and child mortality and other PHC activities through an integrated approach as well as strengthening community mobilization networks towards attainment of routine immunizations and advocate for community education against preventable diseases.

During the visit two papers were presented and of which centres on Strengthening Primary Health Care System in Bauchi State over viewed on Maternal and Child Health Program. The resource person who is also the Program Coordinator SEMCHIC, Hajiya Hannatu Abubakar said the current indicator shows that Bauchi State is ranked number 6 generally prioritized across impact indices, representing 22.1 percent in maternal Health and also revealed that maternal health of the under 5 child to 161 percent while Neonatal health ranking stood at 41 percent.

The State still ranks low across some major MNCH indicators in the North-East where a percentage of pregnant women receiving Antenatal care from skilled provider stood at 51, just as the percentage of deliveries attended by skilled provider shows 27% and only 21 percent of deliveries are being conducted in the State health facilities, said Hannatu

She pointed out that High blood pressure during pregnancy, sepsis, obstructed labour, malnutrition, malaria, cardiovascular diseases and post partum Hemorrhage are some of the immediate causes of mortality cases in the society.

In his submission, Malam Muhammad Ribadu Jibrin from Health Education Unit delivered a paper on the roles and responsibility of Volunteer Community Mobilizers Networks, said, VCMs are selected and respected individuals mostly women trained on interpersonal communication trying to build rapport and synergies with caregivers and community leaders toward health inclusive campaigns, added that VCMs detect polio and PHC services in the communities.

The VCM- network is a gold standard for social mobilization to support routine immunization, and has been a game changer in community-base zero dose vaccination of new born children through conducting house to house social mobilization activities, Ribadu explained

Responding, the First Lady Hajiya Aisha Bala Muhammad said, as wife of the governor will do everything possible and within the capacity of her office to support the activities of the Agency especially on maternal mortality and effective health care for new born children. She revealed that already an action plan has been designed rolling out number of programs aimed at supporting women and children in the State.

Highl points of the visit include decoration of SEMCHIC Ambassador to the First Lady, PHC champion of the State as well as group photographs.

Ibrahim Sani

Information Officer PHCDA