The First Lady of Kogi State, Hajia Sefinat Usman Ododo, has reaffirmed commitment to strengthening maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) services across the state.
Speaking at the MNCH Week and HPV vaccination flag-off, the First Lady, represented by Dr. Folashade Arike Ayoade, urged mothers and caregivers to utilize the available healthcare services in the state to improve wellness for the family.
She assured women of continued support by the current administration and encouraged pregnant women to prioritize health and wellbeing of their unborn children by attending regular antenatal care.
According to her, early and consistent antenatal visits are crucial to reducing maternal and infant mortality.
Earlier, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abdulazeez Adams said maternal, newborn, and child health week initiative is a bi-annual program, designed to deliver essential healthcare services to vulnerable populations across the state.
Abdulazeez emphasised that the programme seeks to improve health indices and promote well-being among women and children across the state.
According to him, the programme is to increase awareness to promote key household practices, healthy-living behaviour, and generate demand for routine health services.
“We are encouraging mothers and their children to have good demand on our healthcare facilities to ensure provision of basic and essential healthcare services,” he said.
The Executive Director, Kogi State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Musa Mu’azu, said the program provides essential healthcare services for pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children under five years.
“We are flagging off three integrated programmes in one; maternal, newborn, and child health week, HPV Vaccination, and the commemoration of Safe Motherhood 2025.
“The maternal, newborn, and child health is to encourage the mothers to ensure that they access the essential services that we render in all our primary healthcare centers at any time.
“Interventions include: Vitamin A supplementation, deworming, Routine Immunization (RI) services, HPV Vaccination, and maternal health services, especially in underserved communities,” he said.
Mu’azu added that the HPV vaccination targeted at 9-year-old girls to prevent cervical cancer.
He noted that Kogi State Government made significant strides in HPV vaccination in 2024, with 284,750 eligible female vaccinated, achieving 99% coverage of the target population.
Mu’azu encouraged women, parents, and caregivers to utilize healthcare services in all 21 Local Government Areas and 239 wards across the state
Stakeholders at the event include: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) UNICEF, World Health Organization (WHO), religious and traditional leaders, women groups, among others.
