The data means that 1,870 babies out of every 100, 000 births die before their fifth birthday, a situation Prof. Ebitimi Etebu, state Commissioner for Health, described as “one of the poorest in the south-south zone and by extension, the country”.
A statement by the Special Adviser to Gov. Seriake Dickson on Media Relations, Mr Fidelis Soriwei, said the state government and the leadership of SOGON entered into the partnership when the National President, Prof. Oluwarotimi Akinola, led top officials of the society on a visit to the governor in Yenagoa.
According to the statement, Dickson said the issue of the reduction of infant and maternal mortality rate had been given serious attention under his leadership.He said that the state was determined to make targeted efforts to improve the record of the mortality rate irrespective of available statistics on the issue.
The governor commended the members of SOGON for their dedication to duty and commitment to the preservation of human lives.He explained that the state government owed the populace the provision of healthcare facilities that could be easily accessed and afforded by the people.
Governor Dickson said that the quest to respond to the health needs of the people inspired his administration to establish “a world class diagnostic centre, a drug market, specialist hospitals, local government referral centres and the multiple community hospitals at the grassroots”.
He directed the commissioner for health to design a scheme to reduce delivery cost and also monitor mother and child before and after childbirth.
The governor called on donor agencies to also partner with the state government in the quest to reduce infant and maternal mortality.The president of SOGON had earlier said that the team of obstetricians and gynecologists was in the state to contribute to the reduction of the high infant/maternal mortality rate.
Akinola commended the state for the effective measures put in place to identify, arrest and control the recent outbreak of Monkey pox disease in the state
