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From Judex Okoro, Calabar
The Cross River State Government has disclosed that 930, 000 mothers and children would be given mosquito nets and vaccinated during this year’s Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week.
The Director General of the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, SPHDA, Dr Janet Ekpenyong, who made the disclosure at Bogobiri, a Muslim Suburb in Calabar, during the inauguration of activities to commence the week, said the program is a high impact health intervention in partnership with the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency and other development partners.
According to her, this is an opportunity to ensure that pregnant women have access to all supplements and also ensure that children are dewormed and access needed vaccines.
She said the exercise is high-impact because it will help to bridge the gap occasioned by the COVID-19 crisis.
Janet said: ’30, 000 pregnant mothers would receive medical kits, mosquito nets and other supplements while 900,000 children will be vaccinated against polio.’
Also speaking, the State Health Commissioner, Dr Betta Edu, said the idea is to reach women and children where they are with the best services.
She said the Injectable Polio Vaccines are now being administered so that we don’t have a polio outbreak in the state.
She emphasised that the government is committed to reducing the mortality of pregnant mothers and children to a very insignificant level and ultimately achieve universal health coverage.
Inaugurating the exercise, the wife of Governor Ben Ayade, Dr Lynda Ayade, advised the people to key into the exercise.
She said the state does not want to lose children and pregnant mothers due to circumstances that can be avoided.
She promised to set up a branch of CROWEI in Bogobiri to enable the Muslim women to get timely information and needed assistance when the need arises.
