By Bianca Iboma-Emefu
Rotary club of Anthony Golden incollaboration with Mende Primary Health Center have launched maternal and childhealth outreach at Mende community in order to partner with the health centerto eradicate and prevent diseases as well as reduce child mortality rate
President of the club, RotarianChidi Ogu led his members to the community recently, where childbirth kits,mosquito nets, and other essentials were given to pregnant women and newmothers.
Ogu, while calling on society tofocus on maternal and child health said that the initiative was one of theseven focus areas of Rotary International, aiming to support mothers andchildren in their vital roles of bringing life into the world.
“We are here today to mark one ofthe seven areas of focus of the Rotary Program called maternal and childhealth. We have all that is used for childbirth birth kits, mosquito nets, andother items for pregnant women and new mothers.”
He emphasised on the importance ofreaching out to rural communities, bridging the gap in healthcare access is akey priority for Rotary, influencing the choice of an indigent community forthis project.
Ogu stated: “Our moveis to reduce maternal child mortality by addressing poor maternal andchild health crises, especially in low-resource settings. We are committed totackling preventable maternal and child deaths by making donations as partnersin progress.
He added that part of our supportis donating child birth kits to pregnant women and nursing mothers toimprove the well-being and health of women and children. Although we dohumanitarian deeds, often we work to improve access to healthcare services,provide education and training on maternal and child health, and advocate forpolicy changes to address these issues.
The service chairperson, RotarianGeorge Nwibo, said Rotary as an organization plays a crucial role in addressingroot causes of maternal and child mortality and morbidity, as wellas providing much-needed support and resources to the populations.
“We empower communities and givethem the knowledge, resources and information they need to make sound decisionsabout their health. When populations are equipped with that information,irrespective of the rumours and the misinformation that is out there, they willmake the right decision.
“So our hope is to directly supportthe government in that regard and our plan is to directly align with thepriorities and with the strategy of the government.
“Our goal is to clearly identifyareas where we can support and we see the primary health care provision to makeintervention as a potential, where donors like us can come and align and rallysupport behind the government’s clear vision.”
Apex Nurse, Alaba Joseph,sensitizing the women on how to feed their kids, said mothers must ensure thechild is placed in the right position, personal hygiene and washing the breastsproperly and not repeating bra is the way to go.