The Cross River State Government has promised to reduce maternal and child mortality rate by 50 per cent in 2021. Commissioner for Health, Dr. Betta Edu, stated this yesterday at the commencement of the Maternal Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCH) in Calabar.
Stating that the campaign was a Christmas bonus package for mothers and children in the state, Edu said about 900, 000 mothers of child bearing age and 361, 127 children were targeted for the exercise even in hard to reach areas.
She tasked health workers to be diligent in ensuring that every mother and children get the treatment, adding: “For this campaign, the target is to see that we reduce the mother and child mortality in Cross River State by at least 50 per cent.
“We hope to immunise about 361,127 children in far flung areas and we are also targetting about 900,000 mothers within reproductive age. We want to reduce infant mortality to an insignificant level and it is the diligence of the health workers that will ensure its success.”
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On her part, Director-General of the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (SPHDA), Dr. Janet Ekpenyong, said in spite of the gaps the COVID-19 pandemic created in healthcare services, especially in infant and child mortality, the state government would not relent in providing nutritional services.
Ekpenyong said: “Because of COVID-19, gaps have been created in health services and we bridge the gaps with this kind of intervention. The MNCH is about integrated services and an opportunity to ensure that if there are gaps in nutrition, we will fill them,” she said.
Speaking earlier, Coordinator of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Raji Railwan, appealed to traditional rulers to convince women to make themselves and their children to go for the treatment and assured of the state government’s support to make the programme succeed.
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