Nurses, Midwives, NGO Partner On Reduction Of Maternal, Child Mortality
Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria – Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health, weekend, solicited the support of nurses and midwives in the reduction of avoidable deaths among children under the age of five.
Speaking, Programme Manager of PSN-PACFAH@Scale, Ibrahim Ayuba, listed the areas of possible collaboration to include routine immunization, increased access to Childhood Pneumonia and Diarrhoea management in Nigeria and family planning.
Other areas Ayuba listed were the inclusion of Community Pharmacists (CPs) and Patent and Proprietary Medicines Vendors (PPMVs) in the Task Shifting and Task Sharing (TSTS) policy of the government to ensure efficient Healthcare delivery.
He lamented the poor access to life-saving drugs; blaming such lapses as contributing to 854,000 of the 7,028,000 annual under five live-birth mortality as revealed by 2013 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS).
He however emphasised that mainstreaming the use of Amoxicillin Dispersible Tablet (AMX DT) for Pneumonia and co-pack Zinc/Low Osmolarity Oral Rehydration Salt for Diarrhoea, would save the lives of many innocent children from the these diseases.
Ayuba specifically noted that based on the 2013 NDHS about 196,420 of the 854,000 annual under five deaths in Nigeria are caused by Pneumonia and Diarrhoea.
According to him, Pneumonia and Diarrhoea accounted for the second and third leading causes of under five mortality globally.
“We call on NANNM to join the advocacy for increased access to Childhood Pneumonia and Diarrhoea management in Nigeria, especially in hard-to-reach communities where there are no or little number of skilled health workers.
“By doing that we can save more innocent lives by coming together, “Ayuba noted.
The Programme Manager further solicited the support of NANNM in ensuring the inclusion of CPs and the Patent and Proprietary PPMVs in the ongoing review of the National TSTS policy.
He says “TSTS policy excluded the private sector which according to the NDHS, provide about 60% of health services to Nigerians.
“To achieve Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria, it is very obvious that the government and all relevant stakeholders must mainstream the private sector in the ongoing review of national TSTS policy.
“We Call on NANNM to Support CPs and PPMVs inclusion in order to provide expanded family planning and other primary health care services.
“This will save the lives of our mothers and girls of reproductive age from vices such as abortion, drug abuse among others,”.
Mr Abdulrafiu Adeniji, the President of NANNM described the thematic areas or focus of PSN-PACFAH@Scale with regard to eradication of childhood mortality Family Planning, TSTS as a welcome development describing them as key in ensuring universal health coverage.
Adeniji emphasised that no health practitioners is indispensable adding that all professionals must work together to ensure a better health for the masses.
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