The government of Ebonyi State has taken steps to lower the state’s rates of maternal, child, and newborn morbidity and mortality.
This was revealed over the weekend in Abakaliki during the opening ceremony for the first phase of the 2022 Mother and Health Program, according to State Commissioner of Health Dr. Daniel Umezurike.
Umezurike stated that the choice was consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2022, he pointed out, the state plans to provide immunization programs to one million, two hundred and sixty-four thousand, five hundred and ten pregnant women and their offspring.

“The MNCHW strategy aims to strengthen Nigeria’s health system at all levels by scaling up a package of key interventions for maternal, newborn, and child survival that have been proven to reduce maternal, neonatal, and child mortality. Using fixed and outreach vaccination strategies, we target to reach 169, 052 pregnant women with iron, folate, and folic acid; 608, 586 children under the age of five with Vitamin A; and 486, 858 children under the age of five with deworming tablets.

The WHO, UNICEF, USAID-Breakthrough Action, Nigeria, and the Integrated Health Program were among the development partners praised by the Health Commissioner for their invaluable support in making the event and other routine health services successful. These interventions included capacity strengthening, commodity provision, community mobilization, coordination, and supportive supervision.
Breakthrough Action-Nigeria (USAID/BA-N) was commended by Dr. Yakubu Suleiman, Senior Communication Specialist at the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, for its vigorous advocacy for social behavioral change in the State.
He continued by saying that since the need for basic health care has grown in the State, BA-N’s social mobilization efforts in Ebonyi Communities see extremely high participation rates among women and children.
“We are to oversee the MNCHW, as requested.

“One of the many positive things we can tell the country about Ebonyi State is its political commitment and ease of use.”Since my arrival, we have visited a few rural communities in Izzi and other local government areas. I observed a high turnout of the intended demographic for the MNCHW.
According to Suleiman, “This demonstrates the degree of social mobilization the State has attained through the support activities of Breakthrough Action – Nigeria.”
Yakubu also promised to boost sustainability and expand the State’s access to NPHCDA intervention programs.

The executive secretary of the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Mrs. Catherine Barry-Oko, for her part, praised the state government’s approachable stance toward mothers’ and their children’s health and urged primary healthcare providers in the state to maintain this fervor while also urging parents to take advantage of the chance to vaccinate their children.
In their separate goodwill messages, Partners’ representatives at the event: the Advocacy and Capacity Building Specialist for BA -N, Mrs Charity Odio; Emmanuel Okike for WHO and Oladipo Akinmade for IHP, appreciated the enabling environment provided by the state government for their smooth intervention programmes.
The Clergymen and traditional rulers promised to continue to be available and committed to helping the state improve its health services, even as they urged each other to preach about the value of vaccination in their individual communities.