The
First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan on Friday inaugurated the Subsidy
Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme Maternal and Child Health
otherwise known as MAMA Project with a declaration that henceforth she
should no longer be called Patience but “Mama Peace.”
According to her, the peace evangelism
was what she would be preaching to bring an end to insurgency and
terrorism including the menace of Boko Haram islamic sect in the
country.
Speaking at the Banquet Hall of the
Presidential Villa, Abuja, venue of the event, she also stated that her
non-governmental organisation, Women for Change Initiative, had signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with some international health agencies and
hospitals to build, equip and manage the best hospital for women and
children in Africa.
The SURE-P MCH is a direct intervention
by the Federal Government using the savings from the fuel subsidy
removal, to reduce the incidence of maternal and child mortality.
The First Lady said, “My name is no more
Patience but now Mama Peace because I believe that without peace, there
will be no more women, no more children and no more health sector.
Without peace, the international community will be afraid to come and
invest in our country.
“Peace is from the heart and not from
the tongue or lips; not what you say but what is in you. We pray for
genuine peace because peace is the key to our arriving at our desired
destination as a nation.
“We are approaching the new year which
is a year of peace, progress and so many good things to come. 2014 is
going to be a year of no militancy and no Boko Haram because God will
shower peace and make us take a U-turn from disaster.”
She also stated that her primary
constituency is women and children, adding that it was her concern and
interest in their well-being that made her go in search of help from
international partners and agencies to establish the best women and
children hospital in Africa.
“That was why I went in search of help;
that is why soon I’m going to sign an MoU with some international
hospital to build one of the best hospital here in Nigeria that will be
the best in Africa. The hospital is almost completed and will soon be
equipped and then our international partners will run it to provide the
best healthcare to our women and children,” the President’s wife stated.
Speaking on the MAMA Project, she said
the initiative was targeting 500 primary health care facilities and 125
General Hospitals in the country, describing it as an important
milestone in the nation’s efforts to ensure maternal, newborn and child
survival.
The First Lady added that, “As you are
aware, complications related to pregnancy and child birth are among the
leading causes of mortality and morbidity in women of reproductive age
in developing countries – Nigeria is no exception.
“Available statistics show that every
minute, a woman dies of complications related to pregnancy and
childbirth. In Nigeria, experts say it is one in 15; which means that
one out of every 15 women who give birth will die of pregnancy-related
causes.
“The country has two per cent of the
world’s population but accounts for 10 per cent of global maternal and
under-five deaths. However, the good news is that, current figures from
the National Bureau of Statistics indicate appreciable reduction in
maternal mortality ratio from 545 per 100,000 live births to 350 per
100,000 live births.
“I am happy to learn that the SURE-P MCH
will not only increase ante-natal care attendance by 52 per cent, but
will also increase skilled birth attendance by 63 per cent and postnatal
care by 63 per cent.
“I believe most of these deaths are
preventable if women have access to adequate health care services and
skilled care at the time of delivery.
“The launch of the SURE-P MCH project
today provides that access, with provision of quality maternal, newborn
and child health care.
“The benefits are enormous: Better
infrastructure and increased human resources to encourage greater use of
health care services.
“Upgrade of community dispensaries to Primary Health Care centers and greater involvement of more local health workers.
“Direct beneficiaries will be pregnant
women and newborns, and conditional cash transfers of N5,000 to mothers
who make four antenatal care visits, are delivered by skilled birth
attendants and make immediate postnatal care visit.
“I have no doubt that effective
implementation of this project will accelerate the country’s progress
towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, especially targets
4; to reduce child mortality and 5; to improve maternal health.
“I will use this opportunity to call on
our women, particularly the pregnant ones to take advantage of this
project and utilise the antenatal care, as well as the delivery and
postnatal care services being provided at the primary health centre
nearest to them. These services are for your good and for the good of
your children.”