HealthScapades Episode #7 | Maternal and Child Health: A Call To Arms | 07.07.2024
by Tayo Fasuan
Between the 20th and 27th of June 2024, I was involved in an intensive training on Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) in Ekiti State, both as a science/health communicator and as a participant as well.
It was organised by the Department of Nutrition, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, in conjunction with the Ekiti State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, with support from World Bank’s Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN) project.
Immediately after the conclusion of this training, from the 1st to the 5th of July 2024, I attended another workshop with other media practitioners in both public and private media houses within the state as well. Initially, I knew the agenda was about involving journalists in health issues, but you can imagine my surprise when, coincidentally, the workshop training was on Reproductive, Maternal, and Child Health (RMCH).
This was, however, organised by Rotary International Together for Healthy Families in Nigeria, through the Rotary Action Group for Reproductive, Maternal, and Child Health, in conjunction with the Ekiti State Ministry of Health and Human Services. It dawned on me that with the sheer amount of funds being put into these trainings, the intensive efforts of the facilitators, and the readiness of the participants to learn, unlearn and relearn, maternal and child health must be at the front burner at the moment.
The training and workshop allowed me to connect with not only like-minded professionals passionate about health issues but also media colleagues from whom I learnt so much, and I intend to keep learning from.
These meetings have set my agenda and that of my firm, MicroBiotics, for the rest of the year. The number of maternal, neonatal and under-5 children’s deaths in the country, especially in Ekiti State, is alarming. And while the government are trying more than their best to provide the necessary facilities and services to reduce these deaths, it is now very necessary to make sure the public knows the importance of these services and how to access them as well.
In a series of field interviews carried out during the workshop as part of the training, some residents of Ado-Ekiti have admitted that ignorance and poverty are the main issues faced concerning healthcare (as shown in the comment section).
And with poverty already taken care of with the provision of many free and affordable healthcare services by Ekiti State, we are now tasked with providing health information, education, and communication to remove ignorance from the public. And so help us God, we will. We will be tackling issues of childbirth, maternal and child nutrition, vaccinations, and other necessary health issues. And through this, we’ll find ways to reduce maternal and child death within the state and Nigeria as a whole.
The full report of the training is provided here.