NAN-H-15
Women
By Muhammed Mamman
Damaturu, Oct. 15, 2016 (NAN) Some women in Damaturu have urged government to provide healthcare facilities and economic empowerment programmes to check maternal mortality and, improved economy for rural women.
The women made the appeal on Saturday in a survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in commemoration of the International Day for Rural Women.
Hajiya Lami Mohammed, a house wife, said “maternal mortality still remains a major challenge for women in the rural communities.
Lami said she recently lost a sister in the village during child birth due to excessive bleeding “it was too late before she was taken to hospital in Potiskum.
“A lot of women lose their lives to child birth due to complete absence or poor state of the available health facilities in the rural areas,” she said.
Mrs Mairo Musa, a grocery vendor, urged government to introduce special economic empowerment programmes to improve the lives of rural women.
“The minister of women affairs recently came to Yobe to promote economic empowerment programme for women.
“It affected mostly women in Damaturu, the state capital and others in the local government headquarters, while those in remote villages were left out,” Musa said.
Mrs Joda Kallamu, a Fulani milk vendor, said rural women should be empowered in livestock and crop production being the mainstay of their livelihood.
“Every rural woman is either engaged in livestock production or crop production and should be assisted with empowerment,” Joda said.
She argued that there were untapped agricultural potential in the rural communities that would improve economy of rural dwellers and the state. (NAN)
MM /OFN
Edited by Felix Nwadioha