Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke
Abia State Government, has said that almost 200,000 pregnant women and children in Abia communities are to benefit from integrated health services under another phase of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health week.
The wife of the state governor, Mrs Nkechi Ikpeazu stated this in Umuahia while flagging off the the Maternal Newborn and Child Health Week, adding it is a regular feature in her effort to reduce the number of mortalities and illnesses amongst mothers and children.
Mrs Ikpeazu said the occasion is designed to deliver a weeklong integrated package of highly cost-effective, yet result-oriented, preventive and curative services whuch will feature integrated health services for communities.
She sais, “We are pursuing efforts to reduce high rates of preventable deaths by scaling up some basic steps such as family planning, preventive treatment of malaria in pregnant women and prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS.
“Others include immunization, Vitamin A supplementation, de-worming of children, use of oral rehydration salt with zinc for diarrhea and use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets to prevent malaria”.
The wife of Abia governor encouraged mothers to take advantage of this health packages to ensure that they protect themselves and their babies and to undertakes complete ante-natal and post-natal care during pregnancy and after delivery.
Earlier in their speeches, the Chairman, Umuahia South council, Hon. Humphrey Chukwudi Benson, urged pregnant mothers ro avail themselves of the opportunity to be immunized.
The WHO and donor partners assured the state government of their readiness to assist, disclosing that last year alone, 8134 children in Abia were “unprotected” healthwise.
Fielding questions from newsmen, the Umuahia South LGA first Lady, Esther Uchechi Humphrey assured that the council would take the sensitization to the communities.
