By Amos Odeh
The Bayelsa State Government has taken its Safe Motherhood campaign to churches with a call on Christian leaders in the state to engage their members on the benefits of the initiative.
At a meeting with the Christian leaders in Yenagoa, the Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (rtd), said that the government was fully determined to ensure that the Safe Motherhood message gets to every pregnant woman in the state.
The deputy governor disclosed that the state would continue to engage critical stakeholders on the need to reduce the rate of infant and maternal mortality in the state.
He explained that it was the duty of the government to provide reachable health facilities for pregnant women but it behooved on them to avail themselves of the opportunity to use the facilities.
Jonah thanked Governor Seriake Dickson for the initiative and also praised the Commissioner for Health and his Information and Orientation counterpart for spearheading the campaign to save the lives of pregnant women and their infants.
“I am impressed by other dimensions the Commisioner for health is using to reach out to people. I also want to thank His Excellency for this safe motherhood initiative. In this case we need to tell our people the importance of this scheme so that they will know what to do and where to go. I want to also appreciate the Commissioner for Information for the mass sensitization.”
On his part, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said that the meeting was a follow up to the charge by Governor Henry Seriake Dickson during the first summit on Safe Motherhood, that no life should be lost as a result of child birth.
Iworiso-Markson added that to show his commitment, Dickson has made financial provisions for pregnant women, approved the establishment of health centres in different wards across the eight local government areas with well-equipped facilities and the right personnel.
