The USAID-Integrated Health Program has collaborated with the Rotary Club of Abakaiki to offer free medical services to pregnant women and children in rural communities in Ebonyi State.
The free medical services are integral part of the USAID-IHP’s “Baby Shower” project aimed at strategically improving access to healthcare facilities through the introduction of reward system for women who patronize primary health facilities through antenatal, labor/delivery and Post Natal Care.
The Baby Shower activity involves mobilizing pregnant women and newly delivered mothers and reaching them in their Primary HealthCare Centres with both free medical services and attractive gifts.
The USAID-IHP in its recent outreach received the collaboration of the Rotary Club of Abakaiki, district 9142, zone 21, which offered additional material and operational support for the activity.
The activity which was kicked off in Ebonyi North Senatorial zone of the State from Monday, July 24 to Thursday, July 27 took the team through some IHP supported facilities where over 1,500 pregnant women, children 0-5 years and mothers were reached with free medical care, health education services and gifts.
Speaking on the project, the Integrated Supporting Supervisor/ Quality Improvement Specialist for USAID-IHP, Ebonyi, Mrs Uduak Fred Okum, explained that the “Baby Shower” was an added activity of IHP, among others in the State aimed at reducing maternal, child mortality and morbidity.
She noted that the introduction of the gifts was a strategy to encourage the women to patronize healthcare facilities for ANC and other maternal and child care services rather than traditional quacks.
Okum further explained: “The World Health Organization has given a guideline that every woman must attend ANC for up to 8 times, and this is what we are trying to encourage.
“The USAID-IHP is working to encourage women to register early; come to antenatal up to 8 times and more, and for them to deliver in these health facilities where they will receive quality care, and by so doing, reducing maternal and child deaths and other complications during and after birth.
“So, USAID-IHP decided to shower them with gifts to encourage them to come to facilities for both antenatal and postnatal care.”
Okum added that 12 Health Centres were targeted for the present quarter, to be continued in same manner until all the IHP supported facilities in the State are reached.
The President, Rotary Club of Abakaliki, Rotarian Timothy Nwite, who led the Rotary team explained that the activity was in tandem with Rotary Calendar month of July.
“For us, July is maternal Health month, and we are here to partner with USAID-Integrated Health Program to give free antenatal care to pregnant women and care for children 0-5 years” Nwite explained.
The gifts including Baby diapers, delivery pads, baby towels, Baby oil and soaps, among others, were given to the women in proportion to their frequency of attendance to ANC and other facility services.
Main services rendered during the outreach events included child immunization and vitamin A administration; family planning services, routine drug administration to pregnant women, free counseling, nutrition services as well as referral services for severe cases.
Interestingly, the over 500 pregnant women reached across the health facilities visited undertook to attend ANC as well as deliver in the facilities.
Some of the beneficiaries interviewed including Philomena Ajigbiri, Gloria Nwankwegu and Ukamaka Nwedogu expressed happiness over the gesture and promised that they will not only attend ANC and deliver in the facilities but also draw other women to the healthcare facilities for quality care during pregnancy.
Some of the facilities visited were MCH, Azuiyiokwu, Akpe Amachi Health Centre in Abakaliki Local government area; Ndiakparata Health Centre and Oyege Health Centre in Izzi Local government area, among others.
It is expected that the Baby Shower project will definitely improve access to Healthcare facilities as well as discourage rural women from patronizing quacks and unqualified traditional birth attendants in Ebonyi State. That will ultimately lead to reduction to the barest minimum, maternal and child mortality and morbidity.
