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By Stephen Adeleye.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has donated medical equipment worth about N35 million to 169 health facilities in Kogi.
Dr Alobo Gabriel, the State Team Leader for Maternal and Child Survival Programme (MCSP), disclosed this at the handing over ceremony of the equipment to the state Ministry of Health on Tuesday in Lokoja.
Gabriel noted that the benefiting facilities were selected based on volumes of deliveries in this quarter.
He added the agency had also trained over 2,000 health workers in continuation of capacity building on evidence based medicine with many training currently ongoing.
“Training of tutors and instructors, supported with teaching materials and equipment, human anatomical models, televisions, projectors, computers and solar system.
“We have also supported data collation and validation, post training supervision, integrated supportive supervision and introduction of health score cards for each local government and health facilities,” he said.
Gabriel commended Gov. Yahaya Bello for repositioning the health sector to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, logistics, infrastructure and recruitment of various cadres of health workers.
The Country Director of MCSP, Dr Adetiloye Oniyire, who was represented by Mrs Awele Ekpubeni, a Senior Administrative Manager of MCSP, while handing over the equipment urged the beneficiaries to judiciously utilise the medical equipment.
Items donated are digital foetal hearing monitors, oxygen concentrators, blood pressure machines, delivery beds, maternal examination beds, Adult Ambu Bags to manage pregnant women and respiratory distress.
Others are Kiwi Vacuum Extractors (for managing pregnant women with prolonged and obstructed labour), and stainless delivery kits, among others.
“On behalf of my team, we are grateful to the government and good people of Kogi for giving us an enabling environment to achieve the above mentioned results.
“We are optimistic that the health indices of the state would continue to improve for the better,” he said.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Saka Audu, commended USAID for the support towards improving the wellbeing of mothers and children in Kogi.
Audu, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, said that MCSP had contributed significantly to the training and retraining of healthcare workers in the state.
“This has impacted greatly on the quality of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Care in Kogi.
“We have enjoyed smooth collaboration with MCSP in the last three years and we are gradually reversing the trend of the persistently high Maternal and Newborn Mortality in the state,” Audu said.
(NAN)
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