By Auwal Mohammed
Gombe (Nigeria) — Gombe, a state in Northern Nigeria, has joined other states in the country to invest in health facilities aimed at checking maternal deaths.
The northeast region, where Gombe is located accounts for the highest rate of maternal deaths in the country. The 2013 National Demographic and Health Survey shows the maternal mortality ratio for the northeast region as high as 1045 deaths per 100,000 live births.
The poor health indices has prompted the Government to spent one billion naira in the construction and equipping of an ultra-modern pregnant women and children Hospital in the state capital.
This is part of the “effort to save the lives of pregnant women and children.” says State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Kennedy Ishaya at the launch of MamaYe E4A campaign in Gombe.
According to him, the hospital is equipped with modern facilities and can compete favorably with its counterpart in advanced countries, adding that Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo is passionate about maternal and child health.
Dr. Ishaya further explained that the hospital, the first of its kind in the northeast Nigeria was built at the cost of N500 million, while equipment at the facility gulped another N500 million of the State funds.
While decrying the alarming maternal and newborn deaths in the zone, the health commissioner said the Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo administration has taken appropriate steps to tackle the issue.
“Statistics have shown that the North East is losing women and children over preventable issues. The situation is not that bad in Gombe State, because of the steps taken by the government,” he said.
He disclosed that Governor Dankwambo has tremendously expanded health facilities, trained more skilled health workers, as well as created the enabling physical space towards providing quality healthcare for pregnant women and children.
Dr. Ishaya said that at the time he was appointed commissioner, he met only 177 nurses and midwives manning the 22 secondary health facilities across the state.
He said however that the state government is currently training over 1000 nurses and midwives.
He also commended Governor Dankwambo for upgrading the state owned School of Nursing in Gombe, as well as the School of Laboratory Technology Kaltungo to Colleges of Nursing and Laboratory Technology, respectively.
The commissioner disclosed that plans are underway to elevate the College of Nursing Gombe to a Monotechnic to allow for the training of more skilled workers in the health sector.
He assured Mamaye, as well as all other development partners in the state that government would provide enabling environment to succeed in the quest to better the lives of the people of the state.
Speaking at the event, Country Director for Mamaye in Nigeria, Dr. Tunde Shegun said Mamaye is currently running similar campaigns in five other African countries with a view to rising the public’s expectation of maternal and newborn survival.
Represented by Mrs. Fola Richie-Adewusi, Country Director reemphasised that the organisation uses evidence to drive advocacy, as well as drive accountability in public expenditure towards efficient use of resources.
“Mamaye is not a project, but a campaign that everyone is expected to play a role. The key issue in Mamaye is keeping MNH in the spotlight”, the country director said.
While decrying the high rate of maternal and newborn deaths in the northeast, Dr. Segun commended Gombe State government for initiating projects aimed at mitigating the issue.
He also urged the state government to put more effort in the bid to save the lives of pregnant women and children.
