Saraki Hosts World Bank Group, Discusses Health Issues

Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki has called on the
international financial institutions to intervene in saving the
nation's health sector so as to prevent further waste of lives through
maternal and infant mortality.

Saraki who spoke during a strategic breakfast meeting he hosted in
honour of the World Bank Group led by Ms Nicole Klingen and the
Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA) headed by his wife, Mrs. Toyin
Saraki as part of efforts to stimulate discussion on key solutions to
systemic failures in the nation's public health care system said all
avenues to improve on provision of facilities, manpower and service
delivery in the crucial sector should be, explored.

In her own speech at the occasion, Mrs Saraki who is President of WBFA
called on the Federal Government to increase budgetary allocation to
the health sector to help fight the alarming rate of maternal and
infant mortality in the country.

She decried a situation where an estimated 900,000 women and children
still die annually in the country from preventable diseases.

Mrs. Saraki said: “It is evident… that far too many newborns,
children, adolescents, and women in Nigeria still die from preventable
conditions every year, and far too few have reliable access to quality
health services.

"To address this, it is imperative that increased focus be placed on
client-held personal health records – which will facilitate the much
needed accountability in the health care system as enshrined the joint
World Health Organization (WHO) and World Bank Group 'Roadmap for
Measurement and Accountability in Health' guidelines; the invaluable
role of midwives; and the critical need for increased access to
universal health coverage.”

She further lamented that, "currently, an estimated 900,000 mothers
and children die each year in Nigeria – positioning the country as the
second highest contributor to maternal and under-5 deaths globally,
second only to India."

On the strength of regional and global advocacy, according to her,
"the Wellbeing Foundation Africa has facilitated accessible and
affordable health care for all, with a special emphasis on women and
children.

"In addition to encouraging proper nutrition, adequate immunization
and preventive healthcare for the populace, particularly those in the
rural communities, the Foundation is fighting the high maternal and
infant mortality problem facing Nigeria through advocacy; multi-sector
partnerships; behaviour change communication and social media
interactions; Emergency Obstetrics & Newborn Care (EmONC) skills
delivery and training projects; and civic engagement to improve
education.

"Taking tangible steps to improve reproductive, maternal, newborn,
child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) indices in Nigeria, the Wellbeing
Foundation Africa and its leadership is seeking the political
commitment of the Nigerian legislature in advocating for more domestic
resources for RMNCAH issues."

She further added that "Working with Federal Government of Nigeria’s
Saving One Million Lives Program, which empowers the Nigerian health
sector to contribute equitably to the economic and social development
of the nation, and the Every Woman Every Child (EWEC) initiative’s
Global Financing Facility (GFF), which aims to accelerate efforts to
end preventable maternal, newborn, child and adolescent deaths, and
improve the health and quality of life of women, adolescents and
children – the Wellbeing Foundation Africa continues to seek
innovative ways to improve health outcomes for mothers and children
through enhanced service delivery models."

On her part, the leader of the World Bank Group, Ms. Nicole Klingen,
commended Mrs. Saraki for the efforts of the WBFA aimed at
ameliorating the scourge of maternal and infant morality in the
country.

Klingen stated that part of the objectives of the World Bank Group is
to ensure sustainable health care delivery in Nigeria and Africa at
large.

She called on governments at all levels to complement the efforts of
other stakeholders in the sector aimed at ensuring sustainable medical
attention as at when due most especially to the vulnerable.

Nice one