Nigeria: The Enugu State Government, Nigeria, has targeted more than one million children to benefit from free medicines, medical consumables and several other routine services in its ongoing Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week.
The programme, which will be held for a week, which is the first round of the programme in 2022, is also planned to reach out to 280,000 pregnant women when they take part in ante-natal programmes in health facilities spread in all the wards in the state.
While flagging off the programme in Enugu on Wednesday, July 20, Monica Ugwuanyi, the wife of the Enugu State Governor, urged pregnant women to take part in ante-natal seriously and ensure that they carry out all required tests to comprehend their condition better.
Ugwuanyi highlighted that the tests would provide pregnant women with the opportunity to detect quickly when pregnancy complications are coming and deal with them at an appropriate time, as well as take practical counsel from a physician regarding their health condition.
The wife of the governor further highlighted gender and sexual-based violence and also checked the usage of drugs and substance abuse among young children in the home.
While speaking, Executive Secretary of Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ENS-PHCDA), Dr George Ugwu, stated that the programme was undertaken twice every year under the directions of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).
Ugwu stated that it is being under taken to meet with the state’s development partners – UNICEF, WHO and the state governor’s wife foundation – Ugo Touch of Life Foundation (U-TOLF), among many others.
He stated that in this programme, necessary health services and commodities would be disseminated free in every community, villages as well as hamlets in the state with the use of more than 676 health facilities and outposts where routine immunisations occur.
