Maternal and Child Health Dilemma: Another Time Bomb in the Waiting! PART 1 by NurseJosiah Okesola-Jackson
Two Sad Tales Out of Many
About 7 years ago, I had a first hand experience of what a maternal and child health tragedy feels like . But for divine intervention (we lost the baby), I would have been a widower by now.
Last week, a secondary school friend of mine lost his wife and baby during childbirth. It's the most shocking news of the year for me! I am not sure of how long it will take my friend, I and our other colleagues still in mourning phase, to recover from this tragedy.
Statistical report provided by the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund, UNICEF reveals that “every single day, Nigeria loses about 2,300 under-five year olds and 145 women of childbearing age. This makes the country the second largest contributor to the under–five and maternal mortality rate in the world."
Another recent UNICEF report states that “for every 10 minutes, one woman dies on account of pregnancy or childbirth in Nigeria. This is inarguably a shocking reality!
Underneath this statistics lies the pain of human tragedy, for thousands of families who have lost their children. I personally know quite a few. More devastating is the knowledge that, according to recent research, essential interventions reaching women and babies on time would have averted most of these deaths. One of the most overwhelming misfortunes that have endured throughout history is the death of a woman during pregnancy and labor. This adversity is one that comes with so much disappointment and carries a huge burden of grief, pain and heartbreak. The menace of maternal deaths is one that is aggressively damaging to numerous households, terminating innocent lives and resulting in alarming unwarranted and preventable deaths.
Worse Times Ahead?
The recent efforts being put in place by the Honorable minister of health, Prof. Isaac Adewole in repositioning primary health care in the country is not only worthwhile but highly commendable. The ongoing efforts in improving maternal and child health care might however be immensely jeopardized with the worrisome development coming from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPCDA),
The Federal Government, through the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, recently announced plans to engage 200,000 community health extension workers nationwide to replace midwives in rural communities.
The plan supported by the Community Health Research Initiative (CHRI), was said to have been necessitated by the exit of the midwives from the midwifery scheme.
It is bad enough that Nigeria currently has one of the highest under-five mortality and maternal mortalities globally. What smart, deep thinking and insightful intellects cannot understand is why this should be so in a country boasting of tens of thousands of midwives; thousands of unemployed midwives, not to mention the thousands of student midwives graduating each year.
It is no longer news that one of the real reasons behind the heartbreaking statistics of maternal and child health in Nigeria is not the midwives. It is non other than this: government continuously paying lip service to commitment towards the sustainable investment geared at providing quality health services for the women and children in the country. One of such investment is the Midwifery Service Scheme.
How It All Began.
According to the update officially made available to WHO by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the Midwives Service Scheme (MSS) established by NPHCDA is a public sector collaborative initiative, designed to mobilize midwives, including newly qualified, unemployed and retired midwives, for deployment to selected primary health care facilities in rural communities.
The aim is to facilitate an increase in the coverage of Skilled Birth Attendance (SBA) to reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality.
In 2009, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), under the 2009 Appropriation Act, was tasked with establishing the Midwives Service Scheme (MSS). The MSS was meant to be a public sector initiative and a collaborative effort between the three tiers of government in Nigeria. A memorandum of understanding between the Federal, State and Local governments which was signed by all 36 states of Nigeria then, clearly outlined and defined shared roles and responsibilities, which were supported by the strategic partners of the MSS.
The NPHCDA’s Midwives Service Scheme implemented as a Millennium Development Goal oriented project employed over 7, 000 midwives at the initial stage. It was meant to recruit more graduates from Schools of Midwifery (basic and post basic) for a one-year community service. The service was made mandatory for the new graduates as a prerequisite for licensing to practice in Nigeria.
The scheme was designed to mobilize midwives, including newly qualified, unemployed and retired bit active midwives, for deployment to selected primary health care facilities in rural communities.
Was the Scheme Successful?
Available research and statistical figures proved that the adoption of the midwives since the inception of the MSS scheme, has resulted in a marked and sustainable improvement in the state of maternal and child health in Nigeria when it initially started.
One of the greatest and undeniable success story of the MSS scheme was the SURE-P Maternal and Child Health Programme (SURE-P MCH) which was implemented in 2012 when it became evident that the MSS had helped in reducing maternal and new-born deaths especially in rural communities of the North East.
There was no doubt about it, the Midwifery Service Scheme was a step in the right direction!
But what went wrong?
To be continued.......
Josiah Okesola-Jackson is a licensed professional nurse clinician, health advocate and media broadcaster.
He is the Team Lead, Media Crew for Nurses on Air, Africa's Leading Nursing Media Broadcasting Platform.
He can be reached via josiahokesola@gmail.com
About 7 years ago, I had a first hand experience of what a maternal and child health tragedy feels like . But for divine intervention (we lost the baby), I would have been a widower by now.
Last week, a secondary school friend of mine lost his wife and baby during childbirth. It's the most shocking news of the year for me! I am not sure of how long it will take my friend, I and our other colleagues still in mourning phase, to recover from this tragedy.
Statistical report provided by the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund, UNICEF reveals that “every single day, Nigeria loses about 2,300 under-five year olds and 145 women of childbearing age. This makes the country the second largest contributor to the under–five and maternal mortality rate in the world."
Another recent UNICEF report states that “for every 10 minutes, one woman dies on account of pregnancy or childbirth in Nigeria. This is inarguably a shocking reality!
Underneath this statistics lies the pain of human tragedy, for thousands of families who have lost their children. I personally know quite a few. More devastating is the knowledge that, according to recent research, essential interventions reaching women and babies on time would have averted most of these deaths. One of the most overwhelming misfortunes that have endured throughout history is the death of a woman during pregnancy and labor. This adversity is one that comes with so much disappointment and carries a huge burden of grief, pain and heartbreak. The menace of maternal deaths is one that is aggressively damaging to numerous households, terminating innocent lives and resulting in alarming unwarranted and preventable deaths.
Worse Times Ahead?
The recent efforts being put in place by the Honorable minister of health, Prof. Isaac Adewole in repositioning primary health care in the country is not only worthwhile but highly commendable. The ongoing efforts in improving maternal and child health care might however be immensely jeopardized with the worrisome development coming from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPCDA),
The Federal Government, through the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, recently announced plans to engage 200,000 community health extension workers nationwide to replace midwives in rural communities.
The plan supported by the Community Health Research Initiative (CHRI), was said to have been necessitated by the exit of the midwives from the midwifery scheme.
It is bad enough that Nigeria currently has one of the highest under-five mortality and maternal mortalities globally. What smart, deep thinking and insightful intellects cannot understand is why this should be so in a country boasting of tens of thousands of midwives; thousands of unemployed midwives, not to mention the thousands of student midwives graduating each year.
It is no longer news that one of the real reasons behind the heartbreaking statistics of maternal and child health in Nigeria is not the midwives. It is non other than this: government continuously paying lip service to commitment towards the sustainable investment geared at providing quality health services for the women and children in the country. One of such investment is the Midwifery Service Scheme.
How It All Began.
According to the update officially made available to WHO by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the Midwives Service Scheme (MSS) established by NPHCDA is a public sector collaborative initiative, designed to mobilize midwives, including newly qualified, unemployed and retired midwives, for deployment to selected primary health care facilities in rural communities.
The aim is to facilitate an increase in the coverage of Skilled Birth Attendance (SBA) to reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality.
In 2009, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), under the 2009 Appropriation Act, was tasked with establishing the Midwives Service Scheme (MSS). The MSS was meant to be a public sector initiative and a collaborative effort between the three tiers of government in Nigeria. A memorandum of understanding between the Federal, State and Local governments which was signed by all 36 states of Nigeria then, clearly outlined and defined shared roles and responsibilities, which were supported by the strategic partners of the MSS.
The NPHCDA’s Midwives Service Scheme implemented as a Millennium Development Goal oriented project employed over 7, 000 midwives at the initial stage. It was meant to recruit more graduates from Schools of Midwifery (basic and post basic) for a one-year community service. The service was made mandatory for the new graduates as a prerequisite for licensing to practice in Nigeria.
The scheme was designed to mobilize midwives, including newly qualified, unemployed and retired bit active midwives, for deployment to selected primary health care facilities in rural communities.
Was the Scheme Successful?
Available research and statistical figures proved that the adoption of the midwives since the inception of the MSS scheme, has resulted in a marked and sustainable improvement in the state of maternal and child health in Nigeria when it initially started.
One of the greatest and undeniable success story of the MSS scheme was the SURE-P Maternal and Child Health Programme (SURE-P MCH) which was implemented in 2012 when it became evident that the MSS had helped in reducing maternal and new-born deaths especially in rural communities of the North East.
There was no doubt about it, the Midwifery Service Scheme was a step in the right direction!
But what went wrong?
To be continued.......
Josiah Okesola-Jackson is a licensed professional nurse clinician, health advocate and media broadcaster.
He is the Team Lead, Media Crew for Nurses on Air, Africa's Leading Nursing Media Broadcasting Platform.
He can be reached via josiahokesola@gmail.com
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