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| Sultan Of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Saad III |
Nigeria’s
highest health body, the National Council on Health, NCH, wants the Sultan of
Sokoto, Ahaji Saad Abubakar III to lead campaign against maternal and child
death during pregnancy and delivery.
Minister of
Health and NCH Chairman, Prof Isaac Adewole, who made the plea while leading
the 36 State Commissioners of Health on a visit to the Sultan during the 58th Council
Meeting said the implementation of Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria was
non-negotiable.
Universal Health
Coverage would ensure that every Nigerian irrespective of where she or he
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| Minister For Health, Professor Isaac Adewole |
“One thing clear to us is your intervention in
every health matters would produce dividend, we want to use your name, your
office and your personality to drive our efforts to reduce maternal and new
born death in Nigeria as you did on polio.”
“What we want is
a situation where our women would survived when they carry babies in their
wombs and also that the children they deliver should survive, no woman should
die just because she wants to give birth and we believed that your words, your
leadership in this initiative would help to convince people that a pregnant
woman needs care in the hospital”, Adewole
said.
Further, the
Minister remarked: “This is our humble request and we are sure that when you
agree to take up the leadership we would be able to reduce maternal mortality
in Nigeria which is close to what we have in war torn countries, like
Afghanistan, Liberia, Sierra Leone.
“We do not
deserve to be in this category, this is our humble request to your Eminence
and we believe that you would grant our request, we believe that through you we
would make a huge difference in this effort."
In his response,
the Sultan called on the nation's leaders to provide affordable healthcare services to
the people.
“We want to have a hospital where I will be treated and
discharge free, we want a clinic where a pregnant woman would go and when she
comes out she is much better than when she went in”.
“ I have
accepted the request of the Hon. Minister, it is our responsibility to work for
our people whatever we can do we must do it right, always reach us
on any programme you believed that traditional institutions would play their
role, we are willing to do so”.
The Sultan also
said: “Men must allow their wives to go to hospital if they really want them to
be what they are, unless you are tired with your wife and even if you are tired,
there are better ways to relief her, don’t kill your wife by refusing to allow
her to go to hospital when she is pregnant “he warned.
He assured that maternal
and child health would be part of the agenda during next Northern Traditional
Council Committee on Primary Healthcare meeting.
“We would put it
in the agenda, how to embark on sensitization across the villages on allowing
our wives, sisters, mothers to go the hospitals when they are pregnant. We have
done that on polio and we have succeeded, we are going to place it on our board
nowthe fight against maternal and child
mortality in Nigeria”.
The Sultan urged
government at all levels to provide free antenatal care to attract the pregnant
women to the hospital.
