Not more than six (6) months into the year 2022, Ebonyi State has the highest score of maternal mortality rate as Nigeria came to be the worst among the other counties in the world, NATIONAL PANEL reports.
The Programme Manager of Ebonyi State Emergency Maternal and Childborn Intervention Centre, Mrs Augustina Otu, stated this on Tuesday during a one-day training programme for Primary Healthcare workers in New Heaven Hotels in Abakaliki.
According to her, Ebonyi State has recorded a maternal mortality rate of 7,014, saying, it recorded the highest in six months among other states in Nigeria.
Mrs Otu noted that the programme was organized by USAID-IHP and its implementing partners to equip health workers before the Mother Newborn Child Health Week (MNCHW).
In her words: “The record has it that Nigeria is among the worse hit in maternal mortality death rate in the world and Ebonyi state is among the leading states whose deaths accounted for the majority percentage of this record.
“In the last survey we took, we recorded 7,014 deaths in just 40 health facilities. So, imagine if we had gathered reports from other health centres in the state.
“The cause of this is that Ebonyi state, for the past three years, has not participated in MNCHW week.”
She disclosed that the participants were drawn from the State Ministry of Health (SMOH), State Primary Health Care Development Agency, SPHCDA, administrative Secretaries and program officers from the 13 local government areas of Ebonyi State.
Also speaking, the Focal Person for MCH in Ebonyi State and Programme Manager of State Emergency Routine Coordination Centre, Miracle Ogbu, revealed that since the outbreak of COVID-19, many states have not participated in MNCHW.
He said: "We have not conducted maternal newborn child health week for the last three years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, as at that time, we were not at liberty to move, as there were a lot of restrictions on the health activities."
He however declared that "now as we are just coming out from COVID-19, the program would be carried out with full force."
Ogbu also commended the implementing partners of the program, especially the USAID-IHP, World Health Organisation, Breakthrough Action Nigeria, among others for their dependable roles in tackling health issues in the state since they came on board.
