From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The Mariestope International (MSI) Nigeria’s Reproductive Choices,an international organisation operating in Kebbi State has disclosed that through their interventions in the health sector,they have been able to prevent 758 maternal deaths and served 290,915 clients in 2022 alone.
Country Director of the organisation in Nigeria,Mr. Emmanuel Ajah stated this in Birnin Kebbi at the inception meeting of stakeholders for the Reproductive Health and Pandemic Resilience Project(RHPR) in Nigeria.
It could be recall that the RHPR,a project of KFW Development Bank/ German Cooperation,was designed to contribute to the reduction of maternal deaths from complications of unplanned pregnancies.
The programme also extended to the availability, access, acceptability,quality of integrated reproductive health services across five implementation states which includes Kebbi, Adamawa, Taraba, Katsina and Zamfara State.
While addressing stakeholders at meeting in Birnin Kebbi, Ajah, explained that their services also extended to family planning, cervical cancer, menstrual health,and Gender-Based-Violence(GBV)as well as interventions designed to facilitate community support.
He said: “MSI Nigeria has supported the health system in Kebbi State through provider capacity training on sexual and reproductive health,quality service delivery,data systems strengthening,community mobilisation for service uptake.
“Specifically,we support 58 Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs),and would scaled up to an additional 75 health facilities. The project we are launching today will support one outreach team that goes to rural and underserved locations to offer lifesaving services and the set up of 40 MS ladies who will work in underserved locations in the state.
“MSI Nigeria’s operations in Kebbi has trained over 100 health care workers and in 2022 alone,our interventions served 20,915 clients,and prevented 758 maternal deaths. This contributed to N2.6 billion naira saved in direct health cost”.
Ajah,who commended the Kebbi State Government for it’s commitment to sustain support for the MSI Nigeria,said the organisation was excited to work will all stakeholders to achieve their shared goal of improving access to and expanding the choice of voluntary and integrated SRH counselling and services to women and girls in Kebbi State.
He added that they are working together with the state to reduce maternal deaths stressed that they looking forward to an impactful collaboration,to work together to deliver the objectives of the project.
Earlier,the Kebbi State Governor, Dr Nasir Idris represented his Deputy,Senator Umar Abubakar commended the organisation for support Kebbi State Government to render free health services to the people of the state.
He noted that their collaboration would go a long way to reduce poverty among women, cervical cancer,GBV and other diseases,stressed that,the administration of Governor Nasir Idris would continue to support them to sustain their services to the people of Kebbi State.
In his remark,the Kebbi State Commissioner for Health, expressed the excitement of the State Government to identify with the organisation which have been rendering free health services to the people.
He added that their interventions would help a lot to contain the cervical cancer and maternal deaths among the women in the state.