A United Kingdom-registered international organization, Jose Foundation UK in collaboration with the office of the First Lady of Kwara State has distributed about 1,600 Delivery Kits to Kwara State.
This was disclosed in a press release signed by the president, Jose Foundation UK, Dr Martins Abhulimhen on Sunday, saying the intervention was a strategic intervention to reduce maternal mortality in the country, which is second only to India globally in 2020.
The distribution ceremony which took place at the Government House, Ilorin, in the Kwara State capital was part of the partnership between Jose Foundation UK and the First Lady of Kwara State, Prof Olufolake Abdulrazaq’s office.
Some of the delivery kits distributed included: Antiseptic soap, disinfectant, plastic padded sheet, sterile cord clamp, sterile gloves, sanitary pads, and sterile cotton wool.
Speaking at the event, the president of Jose Foundation, Dr Martins Abhulimhen, represented by a delegation consisting of Dr Eyitayo Adunmo and Dr Orifa Charles Itafe, said the intervention became necessary as effort to mitigate maternal mortality rate required intersectoral collaborations and Private sector support for government.
Abhulimhen stated that a key risk point that an estimated 70% of deliveries happen under substandard conditions, with the unavailability of delivery kits deployed at the point of delivery resulting in 17% of Maternal mortality from infections during child birth.
“It’s critical therefore that a program that addresses this apparently small but important link to health for women of child bearing age be promoted and enhanced.
Jose Foundation technical team consisting of the Program Advisor Dr. Agbor Ebuta, and Jose Foundation Kwara State resident representative Dr. Eyitayo Adunmo, pointed out that deployment of the delivery kit had the potential to reduce cord infection in newborns and genital tract infection in mothers post-delivery by 13-fold and 3 fold respectively.
“Jose Foundation delivery kit is poised to mitigate the scourge,” he said.
Abhulimhen added that the Jose Foundation in over two decades have been in the business of making people-centered borderless community impact across the globe.
“In our quest we have reached out to hundreds of thousands, intervening in multiple sectors and social frameworks.
“Although we may be best known for our interventions in Gender Based Violence, we have been able to touch lives in every aspect of the social domains. “Recently we partnered with teams from the UAE, Italy, and three . Tertiary Hospitals in Abuja Nigeria to bring the first cutting-edge Multicentre heart interventions to North Central Nigeria.
“The program provided life-saving open heart and highly technical minimal invasive heart surgery to indigent patients.
“This was achieved with strategic drivers from the Office of the former First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Aisha Buhari, and her Future Assured Foundations.
“Other noteworthy interventions include -Johannesburg SA, safeguarding children in Sports programs.
“The First ‘Child Sexual Exploitation’ symposium held in Abuja -The First ‘Gender-based violence’ symposium of its kind in the FCT.
“We have under our belts other multi-continental interventions and have accumulated multiple awards/recognition in the course of rendering globally acclaimed world-class community service.”
In her remarks, the First Lady of Kwara State and founder, Ajike People Support Center, Prof Olufolake Abdulrazaq, said access to clean and hygienic delivery materials as a fundamental right that every expectant mother deserves/
The First Lady, represented by the State commissioner for Health, Dr Amina Ahmed El-Imam, enumerated various impactful health interventions through Ajike People Support Center, explaining that the Delivery Kits would contribute positively in reducing the rate of maternal-mortality and infants death, as well as ensuring healthy mother and child.
Prof Abdulrazaq, who is also the chairperson of the Nigeria Governor Spouses Forum, maintained the need to lower maternal-mortality and infants death rates, particularly as about one in five maternal-mortality deaths are caused by lack of proper hygiene, enjoining the beneficiaries to utilize the items judiciously.
In her remarks, the executive secretary of the State Primary HealthCare Development Agency, Dr Nusirat Elelu, acknowledged the support of Jose Foundation to the state, saying that the initiative would serve as a crucial step towards improving maternal and infant health, especially now that delivery in public health facilities doubled in the last four years due to improved health system.
Also speaking, the secretary to the State Government, Prof Jibril Saba-Mamman, thanked the Foundation for partnering with the State towards achieving sustainable healthcare delivery and called for judicious use of the items.
In her contribution, the commissioner for Social Development, Mrs Afolashade Opeyemi Oluwakemi, applauded the commitment of the First Lady for supporting the state government, especially in the health sector, calling on other Non-Governmental Organizations to emulate the gesture.