Anokwuru Uche Alexis|19 March 2019
The Cross River State Government has yet again recorded another improvement in their fight against maternal and newborn born death. This was disclosed in a recent survey by USAID conducted in the State.
According to the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Inyang Asibong, the State has been very deliberate in their quest to reducing maternal and newborn mortality rate in the State.
'The State Government is noted for being very deliberate in terms of the health and well-being of her citizens, one of such is the partnership with Pathfinder International for the past 5years. Even though the curtain is about to be drawn, the Cross River State Government will consolidate on the gains of this partnership and continue to work assiduously to further strengthen our maternal mortality indices.'
The synergy with the Cross River State Government has seen facilities in the State receive state-of-the-art medical equipment across board, the Hello Mama initiative for mothers and pregnant women, mobile health services with commercial drivers and motorcyclists, human capital development, and collaboration with specialists from the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital to oversee maternal and Child Health in facilities across the State.
Upon their entry in 2014, a Health Facility Assessment was conducted in collaboration with the State Government at 872 facilities and 108 of them were supported. This saw a reduction of Maternal mortality rate from 276 per 100,000 live births in 2014 to 232 per 100,000 live births in 2018, indicating a drastic decline in Maternal Mortality Ratio in the State post implementation.
