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From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
Pregnant women have protested the alleged stoppage of antenatal services by the Edo State Government.
The women, who protested to the premises of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Edo State Council, on Wednesday, said they went to the Central Hospital, Benin for their regular ante-natal care but were turned back by the staff of the hospital who were said to have been working on the instructions of the state government.
Addressing reporters, one of the pregnant women, Happy Imafidon, said they were told that they were only acting on instructions and that they are free to visit the private hospitals if they have any issues.
She said angered by what they were told by the health workers on duty, they decided to embark on a peaceful protest to draw the attention of the government to their plight.
‘We got there and were told no antenatal care from today, December 22. The Nurses announced that from December 22, there will be no antenatal care because it has been closed till January 11.
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‘We asked if anyone has issues, before January 11, they said we should go to private. They told us it is an order from above,’ she said.
In a swift reaction, the Commissioner for Health, Edo State, Prof Obehi Akoria, said there was a communication gap between the state government and the pregnant women, stressing that the government never barred any of them from using the Central Hospital.
Prof Akoria, while appealing to them not to be offended, instructed that they should be taken to the hospital with the hospital’s vehicles.
Also clearing the air about the misinformation, the Medical Director, Central Hospital, Benin, Dr Duncan Iyawe, said that there was an ongoing renovation at the Central Hospital.
He said the Nurses on duty should have informed them of the ongoing work in the hospital and re-book them for a more convenient date.
Dr Iyawe pleaded with the aggrieved women and assured them that prompt attention would be paid to their request.
