By Bianca Iboma-Emefu
Perturbed by the high rate of maternal death in some parts the country, which reflects inequalities in access to quality health services and highlights the gap between rich and poor, Rotary Club of Lagos West, District 9110, has donated medical equipment to Mile 2 Primary Health Centre, Lagos, in order to upgrade facilities.
Assistant governor and project service chairperson, Rotarian Kefe Adedibu, called on corporate organisations and well-meaning Nigerians to support maternal and child health care in the country.
Adedibu said government could not do it alone, and adequate infrastructure was needed to improve health care delivery, especially the facilities, which should be be state-of-the-art.
Explaining that the project was carried out to support maternal health care, Adedibu said, “Rotary Club has seven major focus areas, but this falls under maternal and child health and treatment of diseases. The medical equipment donated to the health centre is worth half a million naira. The equipment included five baby beds and two examination gadgets.
“This effort is to complement the health of the women and children in that community. We just want to improve on the facilities; they informed us of their needs. So, we believe residents in surrounding environs would also benefit from the health centre.”
Addressing maternal mortality in Nigeria, the assistant governor said, focus should not only be on why women do not accept healthcare services, but why health facilities do not provide the services that women will accept.
Also, the governor of District 9110, Aderemi Bello, said, as a humanitarian organisation, they were ready to intensify maternal and child health interventions through donations like this in order to reduced maternal mortality.
“The need to eliminate delays associated with accessing health care services, increase access to care and attaining universal health coverage, particularly as it relates to maternal and child health services, informed the need to intensify various maternal and child health interventions to communities who cannot afford it,” Bello said.
Furthermore, club president, Rotarian Tina Adinnu, said they had to invest in healthy children and families to strengthen communities and avoid unnecessary health care costs.
“Pregnancy can provide an opportunity to identify certain existing health risks in women and to prevent future health problems for women and their children, they had to make the donations to enable women have access to certain basic facility.”