NAN-HG-1
Mortality
By Mohammed Lawal
Zaria (Kaduna State), Nov. 23, 2017 (NAN) An NGO, Kaduna Mortality Accountability Mechanism, on Thursday called for holistic collaboration between Government, NGOs, Journalists and all other stakeholders toward curbing maternal mortality in the country.
Alhaji Mustapha Jumare, the NGO Co-Chairman, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sideline of three-day Review Meeting of the NGO in Zaria Kaduna State.
He said such collaboration was crucial, adding that it would drastically reduce the menace of maternal mortality not only in Kaduna State but also in Nigeria.
Jumare also stressed the need for States, Local Governments and other stakeholders to put hands on deck toward actualising the dream of reducing maternal mortality across the country.
Speaking on the essence of the review meeting , the Co-chairman said, “We are here to review the activities of Kaduna Maternal Accountability Mechanism which was inaugurated in July 2015 in Kaduna.
“It comprises 33 members from Ministries, Departments and Agencies such as NDLEA, Primary Health Care Development Agency Budget and Planning, Civil Society Organisations and the Media as well as other organisations.
“All these are working together to drastically reduce the maternal mortality in Kaduna State, that is why we are here,” he said.
He said the meeting would look at what it had done so far, what are the challenges and how to address them.
Jumare also said that it would look at what the NGO would be doing in the next one year.
“We are working on maternal, new born death and child health, the focus is to try as much possible to create programmes that likely to reduce maternal and new born death in Kaduna.
“We work on data got from Ministry of Health, Bureau for Statistics, Budget and Planning among others and put our heads together for the collective good of all.”
On challenges of the NGO, Jumare said bringing members together and finances were some of the major constraints of the NGO.
He, however, lauded the Kaduna State Government for steady increase in its budget allocation to the health sector.
“This is good, but it is not the allocation that matters but what is the money provided in the budget, that is our concern.
“This is what is affecting the health sector and we are working toward addressing that.” (NAN)
KLM/DUA
Edited by Dada Ahmed