For maternal mortality and other avoidable deaths in communities in Nigeria to end, the right investments must be made towards strengthening health centers and community hospitals, especially at the grassroots.
The Chief Medical Director, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Amaku-Awka, Dr. Maureen Umeakuewulu, made the disclosure when she commissioned the male and female wards at Ajam Community Hospital, Ezinifite in Aguata Council Area of Anambra State.
The male and female wards were reconstructed and equipped by the Aguata LGA authority under the Mayor, Dr. Chibueze Oforbuike.
According to the CMD, Nigeria contributes significantly to the global burden of maternal mortality and other deaths, with 80 percent of maternal mortality recorded at home and in the grassroots.
Umeakuewulu maintained that if the primary health centers and community hospitals are strengthened with adequate equipment and manpower, deaths that occur before, during, and after pregnancy will be drastically reduced.
She observed that the importance of the project cannot be overstated, noting that its effective functioning will help reduce maternal mortality in the community and across the area.
Outlining the tripod of improved clinical services, personnel training, and research, on which her administration is anchored, the CMD observed that the revitalization of the community hospital aligns with the vision of the teaching hospital’s vision to create an effective referral system across parts of the state.
She assured that the Teaching Hospital will provide the necessary technical assistance to ensure the facility is at its best in providing healthcare services to the people of Ezinifite and beyond, but maintained that the community members have a role to play in ensuring that the facility works well and that personnel posted are protected.
“For community hospitals such as this to function maximally, there must be 24-hour doctor coverage to attend to emergencies. There must be power, water, perimeter fencing, ambulance services, and other services that enable health work.
“The government of Prof Chukwuma Soludo is doing well in the area of health. The administration of Dr. Chibueze Oforbuike has also done a noble job of bringing this facility to life. But, the people of Ezinifite must come together to ensure that this facility functions optimally.
“At the teaching Hospital, this facility is one of our referral centers, and we are willing to do all we can to strengthen it for optimum service delivery,” Umeakuewulu assured.
Dr. Umeakuewulu further assured that the teaching hospital is committed to partnering with communities and individuals to get the referral centers across the state functional.
Earlier, in his remarks, the Mayor of Aguata LGA, Dr Chibueze Oforbuike, explained that the project was in response to the concerns raised by some members of the community over its dilapidated state, saying that his administration decided to embark on it because of how critical the facility is to providing quality health service to the people.
Dr Oforbuike, who noted that what his administration had done was to kickstart the process that would lead to the transformation of the hospital, said the ball is now in the court of well-meaning members of the community to give the facility the facelift it deserves.
According to him, the private- public-community initiative preached by Governor Soludo is the way to go, as the resources to develop the state reside with the citizens.
“When our attention was drawn to this project, and we came here, I was amazed at the level of decay in this facility, and that motivated us to commence and complete what is being commissioned today. Because this place has the capacity to be a teaching hospital in the future.
“It is important to note that we didn’t just renovate a completely dilapidated building, we also equipped it. But the things we installed inside are not enough.
“The message is for patriotic sons of Ezinifite to come home and invest in the well-being of their people. The town leadership must champion efforts at mobilizing the required resources to get this place functional at the level it ought to,” the Mayor acknowledged.
For his part, a stakeholder in Aguata LGA, Chief Titus Anigbogu, reiterated the need for high-net-worth citizens of Ezinifite to leave a legacy at the facility by donating towards its total revitalization.
In a vote of thanks, the traditional ruler of the community, Igwe Bob Orji expressed immense gratitude to the local government authority for embarking on the project, which he said was at the heart of the town’s leadership.
Recalling how the facility was first built through self-help efforts from a group in the community, the monarch expressed the hope that its revitalization by the local government authority holds great significance for his people.
Igwe Orji acknowledged the efforts of the COOUTH CMD, Dr. Umeakuewulu, towards strengthening health systems in the state, especially in the communities, praying God to reward her efforts.
The ceremony was marked with the enrollment of 120 people from Ezinifite in the Anambra State Health Insurance Agency, ASHIA, by the Aguata Mayor, Dr Oforbuike.
