Ogun commissioner lauds group for fighting child mortality

Bianca Iboma

The Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Babatunde Ipaye, has lauded the Advocacy Working Group (AWG), Ogun chapter, a non-governmental organisation, for fighting to reduce maternal and child mortality rate in the state.   
Ipaye showered praises on the group at a two-day training programme organised by The Change Initiative (TCI), for AWG members in Abeokuta.
Also, in a statement, the group’s media officer, Mrs. Waliyat Odemakin, confirms the commissioner’s intervention in bringing major stakeholders on board that tackles reproductive health issues, particularly Family Planning (FP).
He said: “I sincerely want to acknowledge and appreciate the doggedness of this group in its drive to push the health system of the state, to the needful on issues that affect women, children and the family.
“In fact, your advocacy efforts have helped the state to record more success on reproductive health, which has contributed to increase in uptake of FP contraceptives and quality access to family planning services.”
He admonished the group not to rest on their oars, but continue to break barriers, to further pave way for the state government, in achieving her cardinal programmes on efficient and qualitative health care delivery, stating that government would continue to embrace ideas and initiatives that were capable of assisting the state’s health system.
Earlier in his presentation, the facilitator for TCI, Dr. Olukunle Omotoso, emphasised the need to identify and involve the major key players who could influence effective uptake of family planning, saying the use of “Net Mapping” tool was an all-encompassing strategy for proper implementation and purposeful family planning activities.
Omotoso explained that TCI was committed to creating enabling environment for family planning setting, with the vision to accelerate and scale-up positive changes in reproductive health.