Grace Egila
CHRICED has urged Journalists to set agenda for the government to enable them to see the benefit of implementing the Maternal and Child Health Care bill to reduce maternally and child mortality in Kano.
The Executive Director (ED), Resource Centre for Human and Civic Education (CHRICED) Comrade Dr. Ibrahim Zikirullahi made the call on Thursday while briefing newsmen on ‘Advocating for the Effective Use of Maternal and Child Health Resources in Kano State, held at the Aminu Kano Centre for Democratic Studies, Mambayya House, Gwamaja, Kano.
Dr. Zikirullah was represented by the Senior Programs Officer, Omoniyi Adewoye
According to him, evidence gathered through research and extensive engagements with people in local communities, poverty, ignorance, and a lack of access to quality maternal and child healthcare services are major contributory factors to Kano State’s unacceptable high rates of maternal and child mortality.
He said the media must advocate, making sure government sees the positive angle of implementing the free maternal and child healthcare bill for the people of Kano State.
In his words: “The purpose of the periodic press conference was to provide stakeholders and the public with an update on the CHRICED project, Strengthening Maternal and Child Healthcare through Accountability Interventions in the state.
“CHRICED has been present in the project’s focal Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Gwale and Kumbotso since the project’s inception.
“Through community enlightenment workshops, accountability report back sessions, stakeholders’ consultative meetings, advocacy, and the dissemination of Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials, the project has made it possible to effectively engage citizens at the grass-roots level, as well as to reach out to public office holders and other key stakeholders.
“These efforts aim to strengthen accountability, promote transparency, and increase citizen participation and inclusion in tracking and monitoring healthcare budget expenditures and interventions in the state of Kano.
“CHRICED resolved to provide critical stakeholders with the necessary skills, information, and knowledge to improve access to timely and high-quality maternal and child healthcare.
“To achieve this, CHRICED has held several community enlightenments workshops in the project’s focal LGAs of Gwale and Kumbotso, with attendees drawn from various segments of the project’s stakeholders.
“CHRICED has also hosted several weekly maternal and child healthcare public awareness radio programs on Arewa Radio and Cool FM in Kano, dubbed “Cries of Our Mothers.”
According to him, “the project was able to mobilize health practitioners and seasoned professionals through this radio program to educate women and the general public on critical areas of maternal and child healthcare practices, as well as the devastating COVID-19 effect on women and children.
“In this regard, we are helping to solve the problem of ignorance, which is contributing to the state’s high rates of maternal and child mortality.
“Through this radio program, the project has been able to establish a solid platform and interface between government officials who are duty bearers in the Kano State healthcare delivery sector and Kano State citizens, allowing them to make accountability demands on government health expenditures and interventions.
“As a result, senior officials from critical Ministries, Agencies, and Departments in Kano State’s health sector are regularly invited as guests on the program to answer questions from citizens who participate in the live program by calling into the studio”.
He revealed that CHRICED trained and deployed 40 citizen monitors to track maternal and child health expenditures in 50 primary healthcare facilities in Gwale and Kumbotso, the project’s focal areas.
“Through this project, we have also trained and equipped 60 journalists and civil society organizations to monitor and effectively report on the state’s maternal and child health expenditures. CHRICED became a member of Kano State’s Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH) Technical Working Group in recognition of the impact of our interventions in the Maternal and Child Health sector since the start of this project.
The Director stated that CHRICED has galvanized stakeholders to draft a Free Maternal and Child Healthcare Bill for Kano State as part of efforts to achieve the project’s goal of providing a legal framework for free maternal and child healthcare for the people of Kano State.
“This draft bill has been approved by relevant stakeholders in the state’s health sector.
”CHRICED became a member of Kano State’s Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH) Technical Working Group in recognition of the impact of our interventions in the Maternal and Child Health sector since the start of this project”.
He, therefore, calls on the media and CSO partners, stakeholders in the Maternal and Child Health sector in Kano State, the relevant government officials and agencies, and the general public to join CHRICED and pursue the cause of reducing maternal and child mortality in Kano State by joining forces and advocate for the enactment of the proposed Kano State Free Maternal and Child Healthcare Bill.
“When this is accomplished, millions of women and children from low-income families and the poorest of the poor in Kano State will have access to quality maternal and child healthcare services”.
