A new partnership between the Kogi State Government the United State Agency for International Development (USAID)) for Maternal and Child Survival Programme (MSCP) is set to boost the survival ration of mothers and newborns in the state.
The introduction of MSCP, according to the leader of the team, Dr. Nancy ?Lawanthel, while discussing the project with the state Ministry of Health at the weekend, will support ?high impact health interventions in 24 priority countries, with the ultimate goal of ending preventable maternal and child deaths within a generation.
“The MCSP engages governments, policy makers, private sector leaders, healthcare providers, civil society, faith-based organisations and communities in adopting and accelerating proven approaches to addressing the major causes of maternal, newborn and child mortality, ?such as
Postpartum hemorrhage (pph), birth asphyxia and diarrhea, and improve the quality of health services from households to hospitals,” ?Lawanthel said.
According to her, the programme will tackle challenges through approaches that focus on health systems’ strengthening, household and community mobilisation, gender integration and e-health, among others.
She noted that the MSCP is a carry forward vehicle for USAID-funded and Jhpiego-led Maternal and Child Health Integrated Programme (MCHIP), which impacts positively by improving the health of women and children in over 50 developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
“MCSP in Nigeria is a new project focused on improving the quality and utilisation of maternal and neonatal services in public and faith-based facilities in Kogi and Ebonyi states,” she stated.
The programme will capitalise on the previous USAID global programmes, ACCESS and MCHIP, in northern Nigeria to contribute to the reduction of maternal and neonatal mortality with increased utilisation of quality emergency obstetrics and newborn care interventions with greater attention on Antenatal Care (ANC).
Other areas of focus are comprehensive and basic EmONC, postpartum care and family planning for healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies, using a House-to-Hospital Continuum of care (HHCC) approach that was used in Zanfara, Kano and Katsina.
She further disclosed that MCSP in Nigeria would be implemented by two consortia partners – Jhpiego and Save the Children International (SCI) – over a period of five years, depending on availability of funds.
It will also work with states and local councils as well as state branches of selected professional associations, including the Pediatrics Association of Nigeria (PAN), Nigerian Association of Neonatal Medicine (NISONM), Society of Gynaecologists and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON) and the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM).
Country Director of the project, Prof. Joseph Otolorin, ?said the focus is to work with the state and other partners in the public sector as well as? faith-based and private sector bodies to strengthen the health facilities where delivery takes place, whether hospitals or primary health facilities, to improve the quality of services being offered.
