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SOAS University of London backs Wellbeing Foundation Africa Midwife Campaign

18th May 2018

SOAS University of London has partnered with the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA) to portray the critical role played by midwives in saving lives around the world, and enabling both mother and baby to thrive.

This partnership between SOAS and the Wellbeing Foundation Africa is part of a global effort to give a platform to midwives’ voices – in line with the International Confederation of Midwives’ campaign to tell the story of midwives across the world and use their experiences to inform global health policy.

H.E. Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki, Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, commented: “The role of midwives across the world transcends their work to improve the lives of women and their new-borns, creating possibilities for communities, cities and even nations to achieve better health and standards of living. I am delighted to see our partnership with SOAS, University of London, illustrating the profound impact of midwives in the world of academia and building partnerships to improve global health policy.”

SOAS Senior Professor Antonio Andreoni commented: “Sub-Saharan Africa needs over 550,000 additional midwives to satisfy the demand for their services. The importance of midwives in saving lives and ameliorating infrastructural and institutional constraints cannot be understated.”

Dr Luca Tasciotti, Lecturer in Economics, said: “Every year more than a third of a million women and girls die in pregnancy or childbirth. Pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality have social and economic consequences, which negatively affect the overall global productivity of the country and stunt the quality of life of the households. The presence of midwives is fundamental in reducing the millions of new born and maternal deaths.”

Other scholars who took part were Dr Pallavi Roy, Lecturer in International Economics, CISD and Research Director, Anti-Corruption Evidence Consortium, Dr Antonio Andreoni, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Research Director, Anti-Corruption Evidence Consortium and MSc Global Ecomomic Governance and Policy student Aziz Hammad. The Wellbeing Foundation Africa commends the efforts from SOAS to illustrate the importance of midwives and to continue a long-standing and extensive partnership with the Foundation in order to, through combined efforts, continue on the road towards achieving a better world for mothers and their children.



https://www.soas.ac.uk/news/newsitem130355.html

dominique:
What does WASH stand for?

WASH means Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

H.E. Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki delivers keynote speech to CNBC Africa and Forbes Future of Health Summit

Lagos, 15th May 2018

H.E. Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki, Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA) and Global Goodwill Ambassador for the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), today delivered the keynote speech at the high-level Future of Health Summit, organised by Forbes and CNBC Africa.

In her keynote address on ‘The Role of Technology in Improving Mother and Child Healthcare in Nigeria - Raising Quality Standards For Health Care, Putting People First” Mrs Saraki called for more widespread use and digitization of Personal Health Records (PHR), commenting:

“Digital technology can, at its best, ensure quality and standards of care are improved and maintained – the ability to track, trigger actions and provide accountability empowers midwives and other health workers to lead the way with quality care, adapting to their own situational awareness.”

“Without a public centralised health database for many families to rely upon and keep them informed of the necessary health processes in a child’s first thousand days of life, the WBFA’s Personal Health Record came as an innovation that placed this knowledge directly into the mother’s hands, and empowered her to provide, analyse and follow-up on her own data – to be in control of her own situational analysis. The digitisation of the PHR to inform similar nationwide efforts by qualified midwives would place Nigeria at the forefront of improving maternal and infant health outcomes. It would be fitting to achieve that here in Nigeria, where the idea for a home-based record was developed and has since been successfully deployed in countries like the UK and Japan.”

Mrs Saraki highlighted the video training deployed by the WBFA at Gwagalada School of Nursing and Midwifery in Abuja as an example of technology transforming healthcare development in Nigeria, and cited the WBFA’s training partnership with Johnson & Johnson and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine as the global standard of ‘hands-on” teaching which is saving lives and helping mothers and infants to thrive. Mrs Saraki drew attention to the challenging condition of mother and infant health outcomes in Nigeria, stating: “Around 20,000 babies will be born in Nigeria today – each one of them a blessing. Today, however, we will also lose about 2,300 under-five year olds and 145 women of child-bearing age. UNICEF rightly points out that although the rate of newborn deaths has improved, to 37 per 1000 births, this national average hides the differences between our 36 states and the slow progress in some of them. Whilst these figures are already startling and should constitute a national emergency, Nigeria’s growth rate of 3.2 percent annually means that our nation will, according to USAID, reach a population of 440 million people by 2040. As a nation which is currently unable to keep its mothers and children safe and healthy, we must urgently seek solutions to the scale of the challenge we are about to face.”

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, was interviewed following Mrs Saraki’s keynote speech, and commented:
"Nigeria loses up to $1bn every year to medical tourism, as a result of the loss of faith in our medical system, at various levels. We must foster an enabling environment where knowledge reparation in health is promoted and Nigerian Health workers in diaspora can return home.”

#ENDS#

Toyin Saraki campaigns for Hygiene in Health Facilities; Launches Global WASH Campaign


Toyin Saraki on Tuesday declared war on sepsis and poor hygiene in health centres, during her keynote speech to the International Day of the Midwife (IDM) Commemoration event hosted by the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) in Abuja.

Mrs Saraki, who is Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa and Global Goodwill Ambassador for the International Confederation of Midwives, commented:

“The health sector in Nigeria and around the world must implement the WHO 2017 World Health Assembly Sepsis Resolution. Hand hygiene must be a quality indicator in every facility and a national marker of health care quality, with access to soap and water monitored and assessed. I am declaring war on sepsis and poor hygiene in health centres – alongside midwives and nurses, I will promote hand hygiene amongst health workers and champion WASH in healthcare facilities.”

“Here in Nigeria, the WHO found that 29% of healthcare facilities do not have access to safe water and toilets, whilst a WaterAid survey revealed that half of primary health facilities do not have handwashing facilities in delivery rooms. Pregnant women and newborns are thereby placed in huge danger and at risk of sepsis, which is a leading cause of death in hospitals. As the Founder-President of the WBFA, I work with our midwives through our MamaCare and EmONC programmes to ensure that mother and baby are safe from birth through to age. Without adequate WASH facilities, however, midwives all over the world are unable to safely carry out their crucial work – and to lead the way with quality care.”

During her speech to the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, Mrs Saraki commended frontline health workers for their passion and dedication to saving lives commenting:
“I commit myself to always championing your voices and your priorities – and making sure that your experiences and knowledge are at the forefront as we create a better and safer health care system.”

Mrs Saraki’s keynote speech came after the launch last Friday of a new, global WASH campaign, initiated by the Wellbeing Foundation Africa in partnership with the World Health Organization, Global Water 2020 and others, which aims to transform water, sanitation and hygiene in healthcare centres and schools around the world. Responding to Mrs Saraki’s campaign, Dr. Wondi Alemu, WHO Representative and Head of Mission in Nigeria, commented:

“We know that health facilities must be a focus for us to concentrate on patient safety – handwashing is key for all facilities, including in primary healthcare. Implementing hygiene standards in health centres will bring down disease transmission. I would like to assure you that the whole of WHO supports the foundation in this campaign and I commit myself as the WHO representative to support you.”

H.E. Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki calls for action on health policy at the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund at Spring Meetings

The 2018 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are taking place in Washington DC this week, alongside the Civil Society Policy Forum, which provides a platform for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to engage in dialogue and exchange views with World Bank Group and IMF staff, their peers, government delegations, and other stakeholders on a wide range of topics.

H.E. Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki, having been invited by the World Bank to attend high-level panel events, including a discussion on “Managing Demographic Transition to Maximize Human Capital and Economic Growth,” on 19th April, will urge all stakeholders to place global health reform at the top of their agendas.

Mrs Saraki commented: “As we experience significant demographic changes, I welcome the discussion of how our countries can adapt to ensure wellbeing and health for all.”

“The World Bank Group has rightly identified that Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is key to achieving its twin goals of ending extreme poverty and increasing equity and shared prosperity. For that reason, UHC is the key factor behind all of the WBG’s investments in health and nutrition.”

“The Wellbeing Foundation Africa's participation at these Spring Meetings will help us ensure a better worldwide understanding and commitment to UHC. The only way to deliver a demographic dividend in developing countries and around the world is to strengthen primary health frontlines. That is where the battles for lives are won and lost.”

Mrs Saraki is Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), Special Adviser to the Independent Advisory Group (IAG) of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Office for Africa (AFRO), and Global Goodwill Ambassador for the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM). As Wife of Nigeria's Senate President, and in recognition of her longstanding high-level global health advocacy, Mrs Saraki is also Chair of Nigeria’s Primary Health Care Revitalisation Support Group, which is co-chaired by House of Representatives members Hon Chike Okafor and Hon Mohammed Usman.

H.E. Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki welcomes World Health Organization Leadership to Nigeria


H.E. Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki today welcomed WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, to Nigeria. The WHO leadership is visiting Abuja as part of the meeting of the Global Policy Group (GPG) - the highest level of internal governance and policy making within WHO.

As special adviser to the Independent Advisory Group (IAG) of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Office for Africa (AFRO), Mrs Saraki held a lunch meeting with Dr. Moeti today to discuss Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria and issues of strategic importance to the WHO.

Mrs Saraki, who is also the Global Goodwill Ambassador for the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), commended the introduction of WHO AFRO's focused curriculum for the professional qualification education of Midwives and Nurses in Africa and made the point that investment in the technical workforce – especially in the nursing and midwifery workforce – is an imperative for achieving UHC.

Following the meeting, Mrs Saraki commented: “Dr. Moeti, as the first woman to hold the post of WHO Regional Director, joins Dr. Tedros – the first African to become WHO Director-General – in breaking new ground for Africa. We must push ahead and achieve healthcare for everyone, everywhere.

“As the Founder-Director of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), I work closely with our midwives on the frontline, as part of the global Every Woman Every Child Strategy to end all preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths, including stillbirths, by 2030. UNICEF’s recent report “Every Child Alive” reminded us that although there has been tangible progress on maternal and infant mortality rates, there is still much more to be done. Five newborn babies die every minute across the world - 2.6 million tragedies every year. Of the ten highest-risk countries, eight are in sub-Saharan Africa. 80% of these deaths are easily preventable – which demonstrates the urgency with which Governments should treat their health systems.”

“In AFRO’s report, ‘The Africa Health Transformation Programme 2015-2020, A Vision for Universal Health Coverage,’ UHC was rightly described as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity and effort to change the continent’s future by working towards strengthened global health and economic security and achieving the goals of a new era of sustainable development.” I welcome the leadership shown by the WHO on UHC and I echo their call on all Governments to honour the commitments made to provide healthcare for everyone, everywhere.”

Dr. Moeti commented: “The WHO Africa Region is elated to be in partnership with the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, and we are particularly interested in strengthening midwifery education in Nigeria, as well as working wit the WBFA to galvanize efforts across Nigeria to push this amazing country towards the goal of Universal Health Coverage.”

H.E. Toyin Ojora Saraki named as “Health-for-All Champion”


H.E. Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki, Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), has been named as “Health-for-All Champion” and one of four women making waves in global health by Devex, the international development media platform and social enterprise.

Upon receiving the accolade, Mrs Saraki commented: “It is time that we open our eyes to the critical role that universal health coverage can play in drastically improving health outcomes as well as reducing poverty, driving economic growth and promoting gender equality.”

“Every year, roughly 100 million people around the world are pushed into poverty due to colossal health costs, while only 1 in 5 have social security protection that will cover lost wages in the event of an illness.”

“We must act to ensure that every person – rich or poor, old or young, living in urban or rural areas – has access to effective, timely and quality healthcare.”

“I advocate for legislation and investment to make UHC a reality, and I am delighted that some recent progress has been made - the Nigerian Senate’s adoption of the one percent Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), is a ground-breaking example.”

“We do, however, need to consolidate and build upon these achievements as a matter of urgency. As a Health-for-All Champion, I will advocate for the benefits of UHC all over the world – but always challenge innovators, partners, experts and legislators to prioritise Nigeria, with its burgeoning population and health challenges.”

Mrs Saraki is a special advisor to the Independent Advisory Group (IAG) of WHO AFRO, the World Health Organization’s presence in Africa, and the wife of the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

H.E Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki delivers keynote address to Commonwealth Africa Summit in London


H.E Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki today delivered a keynote address to the 5th Annual Commonwealth Africa Summit in London, as more than 400 global and African thought leaders converged in London to discuss how Africa’s growing youth population can transform the continent.

As the Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA) and wife of the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mrs Saraki delivered her address on the theme of “Improving Opportunities for African Women.”

Mrs Saraki commended the organisers of the summit for their outstanding program and went on to articulate her vision for improving opportunities for African women:


“We cannot confine our actions to our supposed speciality. Legislative change, gender equality, maternal health, education and health security are closely interconnected.”

“To make a sustainable impact and truly open up opportunities for women in Africa, we must reach across borders, knowledge-bases and cultures.”

“By delivering respectful maternity care and counselling throughout the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal period – and achieving the new WHO benchmark recommendation of at least eight antenatal visits - our WBFA MamaCare midwives have ensured that despite high maternal mortality rates in Nigeria, none of our mothers have died in childbirth. They also provide safe spaces and safe conversations: no subject is taboo or off-limits.”

“Our midwives have a hugely impressive ability to empower women, but they cannot be fully effective in isolation. As a global advocate for Universal Health Coverage, I believe that we must recognise that UHC systems reduce poverty, create jobs, drive economic growth, promote gender equality and protect populations against epidemics”.


“Our countries have both a moral and economic imperative to transform the equality agenda. Women are key to achieving the demographic dividend that comes with an interplay of reduced total fertility rate, an expanded base of working-age population, and improved educational, infrastructural and healthcare investments. Improved opportunities for women, both professionally and personally, translates to success for the whole of society.”

Mrs Saraki went on to praise the Secretary of State at Department for International Development, Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP, for taking a lead by establishing the department’s new Strategic Vision for Gender Equality, and highlighted the importance of public-private partnerships, such as the Emergency Obstetrics and Newborn Care (EmONC) training programme in Kwara State established by the WBFA, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and Johnson & Johnson, one of the largest global health companies.


Mrs Saraki, the Health-for-All Champion, who was recently named by Devex as one of four women making waves in global health, is a special advisor to the Independent Advisory Group (IAG) of WHO AFRO, the World Health Organization’s presence in Africa.



The full schedule of the summit can be viewed here: http://casevents.org/cas2018/panel-topics/

Dapchi Girls: Mrs. Saraki Calls For Citizen Engagement, Increased Vigilance, To Combat Forced Abductions

The Wife of the Senate President and Chair, Forum of Senators’ Wives, Her Excellency, Mrs. Toyin Saraki has emphasized the need for Nigerians to be more vigilant and mindful of activities happening around their communities.

“Nigerians never expected that another abduction could happen again in the country, given the lessons learnt with the Chibok girls.”

“No one ever actually believed that we will still see another forcible abduction again in the country after all the sufferings, tears, lamentations and efforts taken to rescue some of the Chibok girls. It is very hard to describe how I feel as a woman and mother about the development.”

Responding to questions posed by newsmen on the recently reported abduction of 110 girls from a school at Dapchi, Yobe State, at a post courtesy call press parley at Kwara State House of Assembly, Ilorin, Mrs. Saraki continued:

“I want to recall what my husband the Senate President has said that “every head must be counted and accounted for” – and with Nigeria having registered some success by the release of some Chibok girls, it gives me the hope that we will get back the Dapchi girls and reunite them with their families.”

“I want to ask every Nigerian to be vigilant. If you notice that there are strange faces in your community that were not there before, or somebody is buying much more food than they buy normally, or you notice somebody sewing much more clothing material than they sew normally, please contact the security authorities, as somebody, somewhere, is catering for the needs of 110 more girls than they do normally. The sooner we can find them, get them back, the better for our humanity”, she added.

Mrs. Saraki has been a consistent advocate for improved Civil Registrations and Vital Statistics through health enhanced certifiable identity data capture such as the Personal Maternal and Child Health Records developed by the Wellbeing Foundation Africa.

H.E Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki: “Watershed UNICEF report shows urgent need for more midwives to prevent newborn deaths”

H.E Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki has reacted to the release of today’s UNICEF report: “Every Child Alive” by calling for Governments worldwide to commit to a dramatic increase in the number of midwives to save millions of lives. The UNICEF report, which analyses newborn deaths worldwide, found that of the ten highest-risk countries, eight are in sub-Saharan Africa. Upon the release of the report, Her Excellency Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki commented:

“Five newborn babies die every minute across the world – meaning 2.6 million tragedies every year. A shocking 80% of these deaths are preventable. We must therefore act urgently to implement the measures that we know will enable countries to save millions of lives.”

“Today’s report clearly shows that a lack of access to qualified midwives is a key factor in high infant mortality. At Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA) our “MamaCare” midwives work closely with mothers at antenatal and postnatal classes to ensure that they have the knowledge and environment to keep their babies safe and healthy. Our mothers know that 80% of newborn deaths can be prevented by access to skilled midwives, clean water, breastfeeding within the first hour and good nutrition.”

“Japan, which is the safest place to be born, has shown that a Universal Health Care system combined with good child health records, should also be key priorities. In Nigeria – which accounted for 9% of all global infant deaths in 2016 -the WBFA designed the Personal Health Record (PHR), a book which stores all medical records of each mother and child, and is therefore a ground-breaking health resource developed for the purpose of ensuring effective delivery, evaluation and monitoring of sustainable, effective public health strategies in maternal newborn and child health. The PHR empowers women to provide, analyze and follow-up on her own data, not just for health, but also for civil registrations and vital statistics.”

“UNICEF’s report today must serve as a watershed moment. It demonstrates how imperative it is for Governments to embrace midwives, Universal Health Coverage and good health records. We know what works and the opportunity is there to save millions of lives. The result of inaction is unthinkable.”

Her Excellency Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki is Wife of the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Founder-President, Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA) and Inaugural Global Goodwill Ambassador, International Confederation of Midwives (ICM).

#ENDS#

Note: The full report can be read here: https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Every_Child_Alive_The_urgent_need_to_end_newborn_deaths.pdf

H.E Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki welcomes progress on cooperation and health goals at Africa Union Summit

Her Excellency Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki, wife of the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), Global Goodwill Ambassador for the International Confederation of Midwives and Member, UN Women African Women’s Leadership Initiative, has welcomed the commitments to greater international cooperation and the focus on top health priorities made at the 30th African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The theme of this year’s summit, “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation,” has set the scene for declarations of stronger international cooperation from the leaders of the United Nations and the African Union.

In UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ address to the Opening Ceremony of the Summit he hailed recent achievements – including the agreement at this year’s summit of a second framework on implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – and added: "I strongly believe Africa is one of the greatest forces for good in our world.”

Her Excellency Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki commented:
“I welcome Rwandan President Paul Kagame as the new chairperson of the African Union and I extend my gratitude to President Alpha Condé for his leadership over the past twelve months.”

Responding to an official statement issued by African Union Spokesperson Mr. Gamal Ahmed A. Karrar, Mrs Saraki stated: “I appreciate African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat and Madame Bineta Diop, African Union Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, for their commitment to peace, prosperity and to significantly improved health outcomes across Africa.”

“I also welcome the decision of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) to add neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) to its annual scorecard on disease progress, which places NTDs alongside malaria and maternal and child health as the top health priorities to be personally reviewed by African heads of state every year.”

“The spirit of cooperation demonstrated at the African Union Summit this year should encourage all Governments, charities, businesses and citizens to work for a brighter tomorrow.”

World Economic Forum: Toyin Saraki Advocates For Universal Health Coverage

The wife of the Senate President , and President Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA) Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki, and recently named Global Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Champion – is undertaking a high-level interventions this week at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Mrs Saraki is attending the 48th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, which this year has the theme “Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World”, from 24th-26th January.

Mrs Saraki who was invited to make a high-level intervention during a panel discussion on women, children and adolescents’ health yesterday, led by the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Financing Facility and MSD for Mothers, urged the panel and the delegates at Davos to consider the critical components of achieving Universal Health Coverage and helping local organisations engage with GFF countries further along the process.

Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki welcomed the fact that all of the World Economic Forum’s Co-Chairs this year are women, and commented that she was heartened by the passionate defence of gender and social equality made by the Prime Minister of Canada:

“Having experienced the warmth and dedication of Members of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Cabinet at the 31st Triennial ICM Congress last year in Toronto, I am convinced that he will follow through with the vision he has highlighted this week in Davos.”

His promise that, given Canada has the presidency of the Group of Seven industrialised nations this year, his country will make gender equality a priority for everything the G7 does this year is immensely powerful.”

“I call on Prime Minister Trudeau to not only carry out his pledge to persuade girls to focus on STEM subjects but to also promote traditional vocations like midwifery, and upskilling the existing health workforce, which are both measures which would help make UHC a reality.”

She commended Dr Tedros, the first African Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO):

“I have been inspired by the leadership of Dr Tedros, who has made it his core mission to advocate for Universal Health Coverage, as demonstrated by his comments at the meeting of the WHO Executive Board in Geneva this week: he declared that this is “an opportunity to reaffirm that people-centred primary care must be the foundation of our efforts to achieve universal health coverage.”

“At least half of the world’s population cannot obtain essential health services and each year large numbers of households are being pushed further into poverty because they must pay for health care out of their own pockets.”

There has been progress in Nigeria – last July the Senate President launched the Legislative Network for Universal Health Coverage; the Primary Health Care Revitalisation Support Group has been a driving force and the Senate has resolved to mandate its Committee on Appropriations to include the one percent Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), meaning that the Fund will be in the budget for the first time.

“My overriding goal at Davos this year, therefore, is to widen the knowledge about UHC and encourage the international community, national Governments and influential individuals to effectively and urgently support it.”she said.

“This is however also an extremely sad time, as our prayers and sympathies are with the team at Save the Children, so ably led by my dear friend Helle Thorning-Schmidt, whose colleagues were attacked this week in Afghanistan. The work that they do is invaluable and they will remain in our thoughts.”

Her Excellency, Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki named as Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Global Champion


As the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Forum convenes in Tokyo, this week, bringing together over 300 high-level policymakers, including heads of state and ministers of health and finance, Her Excellency, Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki, Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), has been named as a UHC Global Champion.

The forum itself coincides with Universal Health Coverage Day, which takes place on 12th December, each year. UHC is defined as people and communities being able to use the promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative health services they need, of sufficient quality and timeliness to be effective, while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user to financial hardship.

The role of Universal Health Coverage Global Champion has been bestowed upon H.E. Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki after her high-level advocacy for UHC at the 72nd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, in September. The focus of Her Excellency and the WBFA delegation was to advocate for the implementation of innovative country and regional initiatives on policy and governance, working towards strengthening primary healthcare systems and the development of health security in Nigeria. That advocacy drew upon thirteen years of the WBFA’s work to improve health outcomes in Nigeria, across Africa, and around the world.

To mark Universal Health Coverage Day, Her Excellency Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki commented:
“We must act to ensure that every person – rich or poor, old or young, living in urban or rural areas – has access to effective, timely and quality healthcare. The effects of Universal Health Coverage stretch far beyond health outcomes, although we are in dire need of vast improvements in that area. Health security reduces poverty, protects against epidemics, drives economic growth and promotes gender equality.”


“Every year, roughly 100 million people, globally, are pushed into poverty due to colossal health costs, while only 1 in 5 have social security protection that will cover lost wages in the event of an illness. The situation in Nigeria reflects that of many developing countries. With an estimated population of 191 million, less than 10 million of our population is covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).”

“I have been advocating for action and investment to make UHC a reality, and I am delighted that some progress has been made - the Legislative Network for Universal Health Coverage, launched in July, aims to address the issue of financing healthcare to reach all Nigerians, and the Senate’s adoption, last month, of the one percent Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) is ground-breaking.”

“We do, however, need to consolidate and build upon these achievements as a matter of urgency. As a Global Universal Health Coverage Champion, I will advocate for the benefits of UHC all over the world – but always challenge innovators, partners, experts and legislators to prioritise Nigeria, with its burgeoning population and health challenges.”

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is partnering the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), founded by Mrs Toyin Saraki, to create advocacy on maternal and girl child health in Nigeria.

The partnership was made known when the UNFPA Country Representative, Dr Diene Keita led a delegation of UNFPA leadership on a courtesy visit to Mrs Saraki in Abuja.

The visit was the first official visit of the new country representative of the UN agency aimed at fostering relationship between both parties where UNFPA will fund WBFA’s activities, while WBFA supports UNFPA with advocacy and technical/programmatic interventions.

While welcoming the delegation, Mrs Saraki who is the Global Goodwill Ambassador of the International Confederation of Midwives, harped on the need for more advocacy on maternal health issues in Nigeria.

She said that the visit of the Country Representative would build a formal working relationship between The Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Country Office in Nigeria.

“This relationship will lead to an advocacy base that will be mutually beneficial to both organizations.

“Using our Foundation’s high-level advocacy, in local and global circles, it is my pleasure to commit to help support UNFPA’s work, including through advocating for a mobilization of resources from non-traditional sources, while keeping the sustained release of the government’s counterpart cash contribution (GCC) at the top of our mutually-agreed agenda.”

“I am delighted to welcome Dr Keita to Nigeria and I can assure her of the continued support of the entire team of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa.

“We will not rest until every pregnancy and delivery in Nigeria is safe, and women and girls have full access to the best livelihoods that they can ever aspire to, including the choice to have children, and at the frequency they are most comfortable with.”

In her reaction, the country Representative commended the foundation for their good work in maternal health.

Women with a secondary education have significantly greater bargaining power over resources within marriage, and greater choice over the age of marriage

The awful revelations flowing out of Hollywood over recent months have focused minds on the persistence of abuse in varying forms against women – an issue that is pervasive globally, not just in film sets and studios.

More than one in three women have experienced some form of gender violence in their lifetime.

An estimated 120 million girls worldwide have experienced rape; 200 million have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM); and almost 750 million women and girls alive today were married before their 18th birthday.

As we mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women we must use this opportunity to publicise the global problem we face, accept it as a reality, and try to find a solution.

What the Hollywood abuse scandal tells us again, is that if an issue is publicised it can begin to be addressed. And one of the keys to its resolution – as data proves time and again – is education, not least in the developing world.

The complexity of gender violence makes tackling it an onerous task. But education has been proven to effectively mitigate varying forms of gender violence – be it marital rape, child marriage, or economic violence.

The mantra of the importance of educating girls has been chanted for decades – girls’ education is a key indicator of development and positively impacts individuals, communities and nations. Now we are seeing that education also serves to quell gender violence around the world.

We cannot address gender violence without looking at the patriarchal structure under which it operates: gender inequality. Gender inequality serves as the underlying force that subjugates women to this type of violence, while limiting the scope for accountability of its perpetrators.

Educating girls empowers them, both intellectually and financially, to become their own masters and to throw off the shackles that society has historically bound them. One extra year of education increases an individual’s earning by up to 10 percent, exemplifying the monumental effect that girls’ education can have on their earning power, reducing the financial dependence that reinforces gender inequality.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that women with a secondary education had significantly greater bargaining power over resources within marriage, and greater choice over partners and the age of marriage, buffering them against many forms of violence.

Lower educational attainment increases the vulnerability of girls to child marriage, as well as FGM, and is positively linked to involuntarily high fertility rates. Take the West African nation of Mali as a case in point. In Mali, just 27 percent of girls enroll in secondary school, and only 24 percent of women are literate. It is no coincidence that Mali also has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world at around 55 percent. What’s more, a shocking 89 percent of Malian girls have undergone FGM.

Education at a broader, community-level, has also been proven to bear positive results in reducing gender-based violence. Educating community members on international and national laws, and sensitising the public to the disadvantages of early and forced child marriage are key to addressing the attitudes behind gender violence, and deserve prioritisation at a global scale.

This year the theme of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is “Leave no one behind”, a topic as poignant as ever in the fragile and increasingly polarised world we live in.

The rising number of refugees is impetus for greater protection of women in vulnerable situations, particularly those in displacement camps, who experience heightened vulnerability to violence. We must not leave them behind, and greater action is needed to protect these women and girls.

Education is the gateway to women’s empowerment, and provides leadership skills that can benefit and protect women. Universal female secondary education is an achievable goal but developing countries must go that extra mile to make it happen.

Governments and the international community must dedicate greater resources to the plight of women and girls around the world that suffer at the hand of gender violence and the channel for such resource, the tool by which we can make a difference is education.

International Days can at times feel arbitrary or redundant. But this year the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women seems more pertinent than ever. Let’s use it to start a conversation about how to end all abuse against women whether it happens in a studio or a refugee camp.

Gender violence is a complex, multifaceted problem encompassing cultural, economic, and political issues but let’s not get lost or daunted by that complexity – let’s start thinking of ways to move the needle, and for me that starts with education.

By educating girls we are empowering them to defend and fend for themselves. It is my hope that in the future they won’t have to.

Toyin Ojora Saraki is the founder and president of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, a pan-African maternal health and gender rights organisation, headquartered in Nigeria

Why the Death of a Woman after Giving Birth to Quadruplets Should Change Healthcare in Nigeria Forever - Toyin Saraki

By Toyin Saraki
Last month the medical professionals at Malumfashi General Hospital, Katsina State, helped Gaje Zubairu bring the blessing of quadruplets into the world. The initial widespread jubilation at such wonderful news soon, however, gave way to sorrow. One of the babies passed away and was tragically followed four days later by Gaje herself.

This case has attracted such widespread attention not only because of its inherent tragedy but also because of the fundamental issues which led to the loss of the mother and baby. Doctors who attended to Gaje stated that she did not survive because she was malnourished and had not attended antenatal care (ANC). Gaje's husband reportedly explained that his wives have never attended ANC because the classes are given too far away. This is a story that is all too familiar in Nigeria, where limited access to – and knowledge of – ANC, limited health spending and a widespread failure to deal with postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) makes pregnancy a fatal journey for so many women and their babies. Nigeria now has the second highest rate of maternal mortality in the world. As we address these specific issues we must also look at how best the provision of maternal healthcare and healthcare delivery in general can be transformed in Nigeria.

My organization is committed to improving the health services for expectant and new mothers and it has been a life- long mission of mine to ensure that all mothers give birth in a safe environment. That is why, as Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), I launched the Mamacare clinics over two years ago. Mamacare classes are led by qualified midwives, with partners and family members welcome to attend. Practical information, advice and support is given to pregnant women to ensure that they are prepared to give birth safely and care for their newborn child. Our midwives are trained to a global standard and expectant mothers are encouraged to discuss any issues relating to their pregnancy. No subject is off-limits in the pursuit of health babies and healthy mothers.

A woman's chance of dying from pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria over her lifetime is 1 in 23. A staggering figure. Yet over 200,000 women have taken part in our Mamacare classes, and we have not lost a single mother to death in childbirth. It is my hope that one day Mamacare classes will be available for all mothers in Nigeria, so that all expectant mothers - mothers like Gaje - have the chance to access the education and care that they should be entitled to.

This case also highlighted the issue of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH)- a complication resulting from childbirth which can have dire consequences. The Chief Medical Director of Malumfashi General Hospital, Dr. Abdulhamid Abdullahi, highlighted that in addition to not having attended ANC, Gaje's multiple pregnancies put her at risk of PPH. The impact of PPH is devastating: every year about 100,000 women around the world die of blood loss soon after a baby is born, making it the biggest cause of maternal death worldwide.

In April of this year, an extensive trial conducted by the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene revealed that tranexamic acid, when administered to women experiencing PPH, can reduce maternal deaths by 30%. This drug, which costs just $3 per injection, should be a health focus for those of us passionate about reducing maternal mortality – particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for a shocking 99% of deaths which occur due to PPH. The distribution of this drug in Africa would have a significant impact on the lives of many mothers and we must consider how we can increase the accessibility of such interventions both in Nigeria and across Africa.

Whilst both education about the importance of ANC and increasing access to life-saving drugs is crucial, we must also reflect on the realities of healthcare in Nigeria. With an estimated population of 191 million, less than 5% of the Nigerian population is covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). S ome progress has been made - the National Assembly of Nigeria has wisely vowed to carry out a pro-health legislative agenda and, in July, Nigeria's Senate President launched the Legislative Network for Universal Health Coverage to address "the issue of financing in healthcare in a sustainable manner to reach all Nigerians." I trust that this network will pave the way for Universal Health Coverage and a health system which will provide the life-saving medicine and care which is taken for granted elsewhere in the world.

Women, children and communities in Nigeria deserve the best global standards in care. That will require a change in public policy, in attitudes and through better education, and improved accessibility of quality ANC. It will also necessitate the best in modern medicine being made universally available, so that our mothers are not left to bleed to death. In the meantime, let us pray that Gaje Zubairu and her child rest in peace – and may we all dedicate ourselves to ensuring that their legacy is healthy mothers and children in Nigeria and across the world.

Toyin Saraki is the Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa

@Wellbeingafrica, @UNFPANigeria, The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Others Unveil the Six New Modules of the MCPDP

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa joined UNFPA, The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) and other stakeholders at a five-day workshop and unveiling of the six new modules of the Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Program (MCPDP) for Nurses and Midwives in Nigeria. This event, hosted by UNFPA and NMCN happened in Abuja, and was aimed at raising awareness about the six new modules of the Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Program (MCPDP); getting the buy-in of critical stakeholders on the adoption and implementation of the MCPDP; developing state-level action plans for the roll-out of the new modules; and sharing state-level challenges and lessons learned from the implementation of MCPDP, aimed at strengthening MCPDP across all states.

The Founder-President of Wellbeing Foundation Africa and Global Goodwill Ambassador of the International Confederation of Midwives, Her Excellency Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki, who was represented at the event by WBFA's Country Director, Dr Luther-King Fasehun, commended UNFPA and NMCN on their commitment, support and collaboration with WBFA and other stakeholders in the advancement of midwifery education, regulation and association in Nigeria. Sharing WBFA's success story in achieving zero maternal and child deaths amongst 200,000 expectant and new mother who have passed through WBFA's Mamacare Antenatal and Postnatal classes, under the care and support of professional midwives, Mrs. Saraki reiterated the importance of midwives in achieving improved Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health, In addition to this, Mrs. Saraki thanked the hosts and all attendees of the 5-day workshop for their commitment and support towards the implementation of the MCPDP modules, while reiterating WBFA's commitment to support the implementation of the new MCPDP in the States where WBFA is present. She said, “We will not rest on our oars until every pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria is safe".

The wife of the Senate President, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, has called for an accountable and responsible public system to build a progressive Nigeria.
Speaking during the award ceremony for comic and cartoon competition on gender equality organized by the European Union (EU)/United Nations Women (UN-Women), she emphasized that an entrenched culture of respect for each other will help unite the country and combat gender inequality.

The competition was aimed at harnessing the energy, creativity and initiatives of young Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 28 on gender roles in the society.

Saraki said: “I would like a country that cares for its citizen from birth to aged; a country that anticipates the challenges that do come and has a solution for when those challenges comes.

“If I have to put it in one sentence, it would be public accountability and responsibility. We need to value our citizens even more than we do already. I think if we can entrench a culture of respect in Nigeria for each other that would become the building block for our nation.”

She added that respect for gender differences would increase citizens’ inputs in nation building as caring for the vulnerable would build a more caring society that guarantee the rights of every Nigerian.

The Ambassador/Head of Delegation of the EU to Nigeria, Ketil Karlsen, also called for a global protection and respect of girls and women’s rights adding that involving youths in the process is investing in a better future for the world.

She said the entries for the competition which required participants to communicate through drawing without words on what reflects the rights and empowerment of women was overwhelming because of the thoughts, imagination and style of the entrants.

In his remark, the winner of the competition, Mayowa Alabi Damilola, expressed joy and gratitude for the opportunity to speak through his cartoon.

He said the singular motivation that fuelled his cartoon was from the experience of the numerous ill treatment women received in the society while growing up.

“I dream of a society where everyone is treated equally regardless of your sex, a society where you are treated based on merit,” he added.

Wife of the Senate President, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, says continuous investment in health care infrastructure is one of the ways by which the government can tackle the high rate of maternal and newborn mortality in the country.

She, however, added that the task could not be left to the government alone, stressing that private partnership was also very key.

Saraki spoke to our correspondent on Monday on the sidelines of the 2017 African Philanthropy Forum Annual Conference, which is holding at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The conference, with the theme, ‘African philanthropy in a challenging global context,’ is holding between October 30 and 31.

Saraki, who is the founder of the Wellbeing Foundation, an organisation working to address the scourge of maternal and newborn death in Africa, participated in a panel discussion on “The role of government in fostering homegrown philanthropy.”

She shared the stage with the Liberian Minister of Education, George Werner; the Executive Secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, Akintunde Oyebode; and the Director of Special Projects, Office of the President, African Development Bank, Sipho Moyo, at a session moderated by the founder of the Global Philanthropy Forum, Jane Wales.

Saraki, who noted that one in every six babies born in Nigeria died at birth, said it would take a combination of relentless advocacy, education and investment in infrastructure, among others, to reverse the trend.

She said, “No amount of effort is enough, what we have to do is continue to make sure that we reach our people with the demographic dividend and continue to try harder to make sure that every single child born in Nigeria is wanted; every single child born in Nigeria is cared for and now we really have to address it from the infrastructure point of view. That is why we are turning our own focus to primary health, family health, community health and to making sure that every health facility has trained workers to deliver that care. The government has to do more and the citizens have to do more as well.”

She described the place of private sector collaboration with government as hugely important, saying, “We have 191 million people in Nigeria. If we really want to cover the nation, we don’t really have a choice, we have to partner government and also development partners.”

Press Release
November 1, 2017

Toyin Saraki, Forum of Senators’ Wives Pay Condolence Visit to Senator Danjuma Goje

Wife of The Senate President and Chair, Forum of Senators’ Wives, Her Excellency Mrs Toyin Saraki today paid a condolence visit on Senator representing Gombe Central & Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Danjuma Goje to commiserate with his family over the demise of his wife, Hajiya Yelwa Danjuma Goje who passed away in the early hours of Monday, October 30th 2017.

Paying tribute to the late wife of the Senator and Member of the Forum, Mrs. Saraki described the Late Hajiya Yelwa Goje as a dependable friend whose advice and team spirit will be greatly missed.

Accompanying the Wife of The Senate President to the Goje residence in Abuja were Spouses of Senators in the 8th Senate namely; Mrs. Hauwa Philip Aduda (FCT); Mrs. Bilkisu Kyari (Bornu North); H.E Mrs Valentine Dariye (Plateau Central); Hajiya Zainab Babakaka Garbai (Bornu Central), Mrs. Bolanle Ibrahim (Kwara South) and Hajiya Zainab Bakudu (Jigawa Central)

The visit was concluded with prayers for late Hajiya Yelwa Danjuma Goje and for the family. The Forum prays that Almighty Allah will grant her soul Al-Jannah Firdaus.
Amin!

Toyin Saraki is the founder and president of Africa’s premier maternal and children’s health charity, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, and a long-standing advocate for universal immunization in her native Nigeria.

Polio, a vicious disease that primarily affects children and leaves them severely disabled, reared its ugly head once again in Nigeria last year, two years since it was last detected in the region. Up to this point, global polio eradication efforts had managed to defeat polio in all but two countries—Afghanistan and Pakistan. Its reemergence speaks volumes to Nigeria’s inability to continue to deliver the most basic health care, begging the question: why does universal immunization remain unfulfilled?

This Tuesday was World Polio Day, and it is worth reflecting on the mistakes made and the challenges ahead in tackling this disease. Eradication is finally within our grasp, and we would be remiss to let this opportunity slip through our hands.

To understand polio’s reemergence, it is important to understand the landscape in which it occurred, my native Nigeria. In 2016, four new cases of polio were reported, three of which were in Borno state, at the heart of Nigeria’s conflict ridden northeast. The reappearance of polio in this region is no coincidence—Boko Haram has wrought immense destruction to the Lake Chad basin, destroying an estimated 75 percent of basic infrastructure in northeastern Nigeria. Vaccines typically require cool conditions in order to maintain their potency. In the hot, dry, and remote northeast, this is near impossible with the destruction of so much infrastructure and frequent power outages. As a result, swathes of Nigeria’s most vulnerable children have been denied access to this cheap and simple preventative measure.

Another hurdle to universal immunization is the inadequate monitoring systems that track which immunizations people have received and ensure that a patient’s vaccinations are up-to-date. Nigeria suffers a severe lack of personal health records, rendering health statistics a product of mere guess work. In the absence of effective recordkeeping, it is nearly impossible to hold people that need vaccines accountable. In this sense, polio’s return to Nigeria is merely a symptom of a much larger failure in Nigeria’s public health system. Personal health records would serve to ensure access and delivery of vaccines. They would also put everyone in the system, and create impetus for improvement in healthcare as a response to accurate monitoring of health outcomes.

In 1990, polio coverage in Nigeria was 55 percent. By 1999, it had plummeted to 19 percent. Although polio coverage rebounded and was almost universal at the time of last year’s outbreak—polio coverage reached 90 percent in high-risk states—this remains suboptimal, and alludes to a striking lack of government commitment to the cause.

One solution to the problems facing polio immunization, as well as that of other preventable diseases, is the implementation of universal primary healthcare. Primary healthcare forms the cornerstone of basic health provision and, when present, is typically the area of healthcare responsible for immunizing local populations. What’s more, in many remote regions in Nigeria, which have the lowest immunization levels nationally, primary health is commonly the only form of healthcare access. It must therefore be prioritized, to give all people access to basic healthcare provisions, including crucial vaccinations.

For universal primary healthcare to be implemented in Nigeria, more needs to be given towards Nigeria’s failing healthcare system. In 2001, all members of the African Union pledged 15 percent of national spending to healthcare in the Abuja Declaration. Ironically, Abuja has not met this commitment, only spending a third of the pledged 15 percent on health care.

Fortunately, since the new polio cases were reported in 2016, there has been a renewed immunization drive. The international community and Nigerian government is set to vaccinate as many as 30 million children against polio. This drive must be sustained, and there is no room for complacency.

Investment in health infrastructure and reliable electricity are vital for remote areas, followed by the implementation of universal primary healthcare and adequate record-keeping. Yet none of this will be possible in the absence of greater commitment to the cause.

We know how to prevent polio, but children in my native Nigeria continue to be denied access to this basic but necessary vaccination. The reemergence of polio is tragic, but we should use it as an impetus to address the shortcomings of Nigerian healthcare. Greater government commitment to the sector is critical to preventing future outbreaks of illnesses like polio, protecting Nigerians of today and of the future.

Toyin Saraki's Wellbeing Foundation Africa, Mamacare Program Partners Africa Clean Up Initiative

Monday, 25th September 2017

Recognising the need to provide support and care for pregnant women and other women of childbearing age, especially those living in marginalised or low-income communities, The Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), led by its Founder-President, Her Excellency Mrs. Toyin Ojora Saraki, partnered with Africa Clean Up Initiative on its finale event for the Beyond Waste Pregnant Women Engagement Workshop.

The Beyond Waste Pregnant Women Engagement Workshop: The Unborn Child Deserves a Better Life is an initiative geared towards engaging pregnant mothers within low-income communities to find out their needs with regards to pregnancy and delivery. In support of this initiative, WBFA, through the platform of its MamaCare Antenatal and Postnatal program, teamed up with Africa Clean Up Initiative to deliver an engaging and insightful antenatal class geared towards equipping the expectant mothers in attendance with much-needed information about how to care for themselves and their unborn babies. With an understanding of the fact that pregnant women are more inclined to engage in health-seeking behaviour, due to the increase in their instinct for care and nurture, WBFA's MamaCare midwives were hands-on, using relevant tools and manuals to help the pregnant women in attendance understand what to expect during pregnancy and delivery, and also how to prepare for their much-expected delivery. They also shared useful tips about how to breastfeed and the importance/health benefits of early and exclusive breastfeeding.

Committed to empowering expectant and new mothers using health-seeking incentives, WBFA donated Mamacare Goody Bags containing essential items useful for the safe delivery and care of mothers and their babies. In addition to this, expectant mothers were introduced to the Knorr Green Food Steps nutritional campaign, receiving iron-fortified Knorr cubes from WBFA's team courtesy of Unilever Nigeria PLC, in order to help the pregnant mothers, increase their iron intake. This is because the iron requirement of a woman triples during pregnancy, making it difficult for them to meet the high iron requirement through dietary intake alone. Insufficient iron intake in pregnant women can lead to anaemia which is linked to an increased risk of preterm delivery, low birth weight, and a higher risk of stillbirth. Iron deficiency in pregnancy does not affect the newborn alone; it also affects the mother, as it is also associated with 1 in 6 maternal deaths. Hence, the iron-fortified Knorr cubes will play a major role in ensuring that the pregnant mothers have a supplementary source of iron in their diet.

Emphasizing on the role of mothers as drivers of change to address nutritional deficiencies and promote health-seeking behaviour, Her Excellency Mrs. Toyin Ojora Saraki further stated: “I believe that if we educate and empower pregnant women by providing them with information that will help them make informed decisions about their health and that of their families, while helping them understand the importance of a nutrient-rich diet, and increasing their iron intake during pregnancy, they will make the relevant and beneficial changes to their diets and drive that change in their families and communities as whole.”

Having a clear understanding of the fact that pregnant women and their babies are most vulnerable during pregnancy and the postpartum period, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa has strategically positioned programs/interventions such the Alaafia Universal Health Coverage Fund (AUHCF) - an initiative that provides pregnant women, new mothers and their children with access to affordable and quality healthcare, geared towards promoting health-seeking behaviour and encouraging mothers to engage the services of skilled birth attendants at birthing facilities during pregnancy and childbirth; and WBFA's Personal Health Records (PHRs) - which tracks the health of a mother and her child from the early stages of pregnancy to the child’s fifth birthday. The PHRs enable mothers and healthcare workers keep accurate records with regards to the mother and her baby, helping mothers seek the relevant healthcare services on time, while enabling healthcare workers to provide effective advice and treatment, when needed, for improved maternal and child health outcomes.

More Photos

Toyin Saraki's Wellbeing Foundation Africa leads the charge for Universal Health Coverage at UNGA 2017

Friday 22 September 2017, New York

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), the continent's leading maternal and child health charity, is attending the 72nd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), this week in New York, where the Foundation’s team will continue their mission to increase investments in health infrastructure, while imploring national governments, the private sector and NGOs to commit to universal health coverage (UHC). The WBFA works in Nigeria and in other parts of Africa, focusing on improving the livelihoods of women through advocacy, education and empowerment, in pursuit of the fulfilment of SDGs 3 and 5, across Africa.

The WBFA has dedicated its global policy advocacy at the 72nd UNGA to the massive gains that can be achieved by investing in primary healthcare and community health infrastructure, presenting evidence of the massive social and economic returns of strategic social impact investments.

Mrs. Saraki, who serves as International Confederation of Midwives Global Goodwill Ambassador and Chair of Nigeria's Primary Health Care Revitalization Support Group of 92 national civil society organisations advocating to Nigeria's National Assembly that Government honours it's 1% Consolidated Revenue Fund budgetary appropriation pledges to Health stated:

“The horror of the terrorism in North East Nigeria shocked the world, and rightly caused a strong Government response. But there is another killer which is as lethal but less visible, and one the Government must act on also: the broken healthcare system that means people die from illness that could have been prevented."

“The impact of inadequate care is huge. According to the institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in 2015 alone malaria killed 192,284 people in Nigeria, diarrheal diseases killed 143,88 people and neonatal and maternal disorders killed 212,557 women and children died during pregnancy and childbirth.”

“These numbers add up to a crisis as dire and urgent as direct violence. Yet for every 1 Naira spent on health, 2.5 Naira is spent on defense. It is time the Government’s response to the crisis of poor health be as swift and aggressive as the response to national security threats.”

"Every year, roughly 100 million people globally are pushed into poverty due to catastrophic health costs, while only 1 in 5 people have social security protection that will cover lost wages in the event of illness."

"In Africa, there is a population growth estimated to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, and a triple burden of communicable, non-communicable diseases and weak health systems."

"Most countries have integrated UHC goals into their national health strategies; however, this has not translated into resource allocation or implementation."

"Therefore, there is a need for renewed commitments and accelerated progress towards UHC in Africa, in order to eliminate preventable deaths, especially maternal and child deaths; strengthen resilience to public health emergencies; reduce financial hardship linked to illness; and strengthen the foundations for long-term inclusive, economic and sustainable growth."

"An investment in health infrastructure and funded public service provision in upgrading primary health care to specialist referral standards is an investment in community health, and a step towards assuring fully funded and higher quality Universal Health Coverage. Frontline health conditions and non-communicable diseases are not gender specific or gender restricted, and investment in UHC is the most essential investment for health justice, social equity and holistic accountability, to deliver a demographic dividend"

WBFA currently delivers ante-natal and post-natal education to over 200,000 women in Nigeria through its #Mamacare Classes and #MaternalMonday Campaign, provides Kwara State healthworkers with specialist training in the emergency management of obstetric and newborn complications, and has been the driver of implementing widespread, client-held personal health records (PHRs) in Nigeria. WBFA’s Founder-President, Her Excellency Mrs. Toyin Saraki and the wider WBFA team have taken on the task of urging partners to invest in health infrastructure and to commit to Universal Health Coverage at a range of high-level events throughout the UNGA week, ensuring that relevant stakeholders are effectively engaged, including:

• Sustainable Infrastructure: Financing and Supporting Service Delivery in Africa, hosted by Concordia Summit, where Her Excellency Mrs. Toyin Ojora Saraki engaged global stakeholders, including current and former Heads of States, Chairs, and CEOs of leading corporations and multi-lateral organizations, in a discussion as the principal in a strategic dialogue focusing on sustainable African infrastructure.

• Resilient and Stable: Building Strong Health Systems to Protect Women, Adolescents and Children meeting, hosted by Management Sciences for Health (MSH), Global Health Council, Johnson & Johnson, and Syrian American Medical Society

• The Case for Investing in Maternal Health: Where Should the Money Go in Humanitarian Settings - "Safe Birth Even Here" hosted by UNFPA, highlighting the renowned humanitarian ambassador, actress Ashley Judd and HE Toyin Saraki's contributions

• Speak Up Africa Gala honouring African Global Health Leaders: honoring WHO Director General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, Former Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete, Dr Mary Anne Etiebet Director of Merck For Mothers and Wellbeing Foundation Africa Founder HE Toyin Ojora Saraki

• Global Health Security in Action: Putting Countries in the Driver’s Seat, hosted by Rabin Martin, in collaboration with USP, Global Health Council, MSH and Intel

• Unpacking UHC Governance & Financing: Making Health for all a reality hosted by Management Sciences for Health

• Rights in Action: Implementing and monitoring the recommendations of the High-Level Working Group on the Health and Human Rights of Women, Children and Adolescents hosted by The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) and The World Health Organization.

• Closing the Gap: Innovative Business Models for Universal Health Coverage hosted by Devex & Philips

• United Nations Trusteeship Council High Level Briefing on the African Women Leaders Network hosted by the African Union Commission, UN Women, Government of Germany

• Goalkeepers for Nutrition: Inspiring Success hosted by the Gates Foundation and 1000 Days to celebrate success and accelerate efforts to address childhood stunting

Her Excellency Toyin Saraki's WBFA Delegation to the 72nd United Nations General Assembly also participated at the following events:

• Transforming accountability for the health & human rights of women, children and adolescents, hosted by Governments of Denmark and South Africa and co-organised by the Independent Accountability Panel (IAP) & PMNCH

• World Leaders for Universal Health Coverage: A High-Level Discussion at the United Nations on Achieving the SDGs through Health for All, hosted by Japan, World Bank, WHO, UNICEF, UNDP, UHC 2030 & PMNCH

• Enabling Policies and Investments for a Fit-for-Purpose Health Workforce in LMICs by Intrahealth

• UNFPA Technical Consultation - Reproductive Health Commodity Security in Humanitarian Settings, hosted by UNFPA

• Delivering Together for Healthy & Empowered Women, Children & Adolescents, hosted by Every Woman Every Child.

• Leveraging philanthropy for the 2030 Agenda: from evidence to action hosted by the OECD with the governments of Germany and Mexico

• Fashion 4 Development Annual First Ladies Luncheon and announcement of Franca Sozzani Awards as the guest of Dr Precious Moloi Motsepe, honoring Dr Motsepe and others including supermodels Iman, and Naomi Campbell, and as a previous honoree of the Fashion 4 Development humanitarian "Angel" Award, 2013.

• Celebrating progress towards ending Child Marriage hosted by Ford Foundation, NoVo, Packard Foundation and Girls Not Brides, alongside education advocate and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, World Bank Group CEO Kristalina Georgieva, Princess Mabel von Oranje

Mrs Saraki, concludes her 72nd United Nations General Assembly engagements at a High Level Side Event on Humanitarian Support Initiative For Refugee Women & Children in the Lake Chad Basin hosted by the Permanent Representatives of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroun and Chad to the United Nations, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund UNFPA, and Their Excellencies The First Ladies of Nigeria, Niger Republic, Cameroon and Chad, Mrs Aisha M Buhari, Dr Lalla Malika J Mahamadou, Mrs Chantal Biya and Mrs Hinda D Itno respectively.

Mrs Saraki, the Wife of Nigeria's Senate President Dr Abubabakar Bukola Saraki, will deliver the keynote address as the Delegated Representative of Nigeria's First Lady, Her Excellency Mrs Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, the Wife of The President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, tasked with unveiling the First Ladies Lake Chad Basin Humanitarian Support Initiative.

Anglo-Nigerian philanthropist Toyin Saraki launched the Wellbeing Foundation to try to end maternal mortality. Now her Mamacare clinics are saving lives globally, says Rosamund Urwin

Toyin Saraki never saw her baby who died. At first, when she asked to see the second of her twin girls, Saraki was told she’d been taken to another hospital. Even now — 25 years on — she doesn’t know where the baby is buried.

“In our culture, we don’t really deal with grief,” she tells me. “You don’t bury your child, so every time I go to a funeral, I am always checking to see if my child is there. One of my husband’s uncles knows [where she is] but he won’t tell me. Imagine being unable to put flowers on a grave.” This fostered a false hope. “I used to look at the faces of children about my baby’s age and think: ‘Maybe she didn’t die — maybe someone stole her’.”

Her loss led Saraki — the First Lady of Kwara state in Nigeria — to found the Wellbeing Foundation, a charity to improve reproductive, maternal and child health, which runs “Mamacare” clinics for expectant mothers. Over the course of two days in Lagos with Saraki, a dual Anglo-Nigerian national who was born in Nigeria, came to the UK to board at Roedean School in Sussex and now lives between the two countries, we visit two clinics, the first in a military compound, the 9th Brigade, and the second in more rural Awoyaya.

We first meet in her opulent home in Lagos, all perfectly plumped cushions and enviable art, where the calm is only broken by her dogs. Saraki is 52, though could pass for much younger, with no wrinkles around her kohl-rimmed eyes. When in London, her clothes are Western; here, she’s in bright swirling prints — teal, yellow and pink. Her approach is loving yet no-nonsense: there’s a throaty laugh that comes easily, she insists the mothers call her “Toyin” instead of “her excellency” and later, in a restaurant, she drops her handbag down on the floor before a waitress can bring a stool for it (“I’m not one of those precious people”).

Saraki is a connections queen. She knows the Obamas, Ban Ki-moon and Princes William and Harry. The latter contacted her about sharing research with his charity Sentebale: “Those boys bring a youthful face. It’s rare to see boys innovating in development. They show it’s not a sin to have feelings as a guy.”

She applauds Harry’s work in particular. “His approach is one of respect. I don’t like the beneficiary narrative — my Mamacare mums are mums, not beneficiaries. If people need help in their life, you should be grateful you are in a position to help them.”

Saraki knows trauma first-hand. Aged 25 and pregnant, she travelled from London to Nigeria for her wedding (Nigerian nuptial celebrations can last a year). At 28 weeks pregnant, the day before her wedding, Saraki realised the amniotic sac was hanging out, although her waters hadn’t broken.

She recalls being “carried off, legs spread-eagled”. At the hospital, she turned on her back to get an epidural. They didn’t offer them. The first baby, Tosin, emerged but the doctor realised the other baby was on its side: “It was ‘Push, push, push!’ Then suddenly it was ‘Don’t push!’” Saraki had an emergency Caesarean but the baby died.

When she awoke, Tosin, who weighed 1.2kg, was in an incubator. She was so tiny Saraki’s relatives went to Harrods to buy dolls’ clothes for her. Saraki’s grandmother piled eight bibles up in the corner of her hospital room and encouraged her to pray.

Once, Tosin stopped breathing and was turning blue. Saraki ran to find the paediatrician, who revived her. Saraki made a promise to God that if Tosin survived she’d strive to help families in this position. “Whenever I’m tired I look at my daughter and get scared of God again.” Tosin, now 26, was discharged six weeks later but for months afterwards Saraki would put a mirror to Tosin’s mouth while she slept to check for mist.

Saraki, who has since had another three children, reveals that she felt blamed for the baby’s death. “I’d given them names so people blamed me because it’s bad luck to name a baby here until seven days after birth. I was made to feel like it was me.”

But it wasn’t her. And it wasn’t just babies dying but women too. In 2015, around 303,000 women globally died giving birth. Nigeria has the second highest rate of maternal mortality and accounts for around 14 per cent of global maternal mortality. So 14 years ago Saraki began counting deaths: ““I realised there were so many women who were ‘unlucky’. When I went to Kwara — which to a Lagos person is how a Londoner looks at Wales — I counted 1,000 births, and 200 [women] had died.” Afterwards, Saraki went to meet the health minister and began her crusade.

As she talks, she becomes animated, then apologetic. “I get fierce, I’m sorry. But why are we the only country in the world that accepts women dying?” she asks. “After 40 days your husband can remarry. God forbid, if I died today, within 40 days even my family would be bringing my husband replacement wives. They’d use different excuses: ‘the children need somebody’. The truth is that it’s a man’s world but we women are the ones bearing the brunt. I didn’t like that.”

Initially, Saraki paid women’s bills — when they needed a C-section, say (hospitals may demand the money in advance). Then, when she went to London to have her next child (a son) - “I ran to London the minute I was pregnant and just sat there” - she came across the red books healthcare workers give pregnant women for their children to record immunisations and their health. “I realised we needed this in Nigeria,” she explains. She tracked down the makers and had thousands printed. She later hosted midwives to be trained and persuaded insurers to give cover to pregnant women — switching from paying people’s bills to their insurance.

At first, Saraki had focused on doctors. “Eventually, I thought ‘why am I struggling with these doctors?’ Midwives are the ones that are with these women and they’re not so hoity-toity that they won’t listen. It’s an alliance.”

Nigeria had focused on traditional birth attendants, TBAs, who are cheaper to train than midwives, but Saraki feels the midwives are the ultimate asset. “There is a trust between my midwives and the mums, and they’re so dedicated — I’ve known them give their own blood to patients... When the TBAs oversee the birth, if the baby gets stuck they’ll get a wheelbarrow — the local form of an ambulance — and may dump her at the hospital door. By then, it’s too late.” Her midwives, in turn, are devoted to her. One, Eunice, tells me: “I love to call her my boss.”

Saraki launched the Mamacare clinics two years ago and has educated more than 200,000 mothers about birth and children’s health. Subjects such as drugs, domestic violence and savings are discussed too. “By the time a woman’s done eight months of Mamacare classes she’s got a new worldview.” Since many babies are anaemic, women are also taught to breastfeed in the classes, using a jacket “with a fake boob”.

In the classes I see, the Mamacare midwives joke with the women but their training is more professional than other midwives. They each have their style, Saraki says: “Mrs K is grandmotherly: even I feel like resting on her bosom! The pictures from my midwife Rita of the post-natal visit always have the mother holding the baby unless it’s a multiple pregnancy. But Mrs K is always holding the baby herself.”

They are trained use anatomical models since Saraki partnered with a company which makes pelvic models. Saraki has been ensuring other midwives get this training too. “One the midwives - who’s over 50 - said to me: for the first time I feel confident when I’m evacuating a placenta. I thought: ‘my God, you’ve been doing this for 25 years, what was happening before?’”

The results are remarkable: they haven’t lost a Mamacare mother yet. “I’ve seen triplets - born at 24 weeks - all survive. We did kangaroo care, with the mother, the grandma and the aunt.”

Saraki still ends up paying sometimes. Recently she was called by one of her midwives at 2am, the night before a flight to London. A mother was having triplets and didn’t have money for a Caesarean. Saraki tried to do “development diligence”, protesting that the midwife should make a formal request through the accountant. But at 5am her “niggling, beatitude to God thing” took over, and she headed to Abuja General Hospital.

“I didn’t even know the name of the mum! I said, ‘Is there a Mamacare Mum here?’ A woman popped out of bed and said, ‘It’s me!’ By the time I landed in London at 3pm she’d had the babies — a boy and two girls. Gorgeous children!” Not only that but they found her husband, who’d lost his job, new work with a senator: “We’ve turned into an employment agency too!”

In the long run, Saraki dreams of a more equitable healthcare system. When her son was born at the Portland, she noticed her obstetrician only visited in the morning and evening. “This man charging me all that money was in the Chelsea and Westminster, where they’re getting him for free!” she says, with mock outrage. “That’s what I want here: it should not matter whether you’re rich, let the public system be good enough.”

The immediate focus, though, is education: “Empowering a pregnant woman is empowering two people’s lives.” The Foundation now works more with adolescents (in Nigeria, Saraki says, sex education is called “skills and drills”). When giving a lecture at a university recently she asked the women if they were using contraception. There was silence. “I left the podium and went, ‘Come on girls! You can’t be serious! You’re in a university with boys and you don’t know about contraception?’”

She told them: “Having a child that’s unplanned is the most disastrous thing. Abortion is painful — it’s not birth control. You’re better off practising safe sex.” The students gawped. “I said: ‘close your mouths and let’s have a frank chat.’”

Back in the Mamacare class, Saraki says how much she loves her work. “I know this isn’t sexy work – and I’m not saving the world, but one mother at a time. They are living. They are actually living. For me, that’s fulfilling.”

The classes begin and end with prayers – both Muslim and Christian. Afterwards, as we head out into the scorching Lagos sun for the obligatory photos, Saraki turns to me, beaming with pride: “Now the women can do more than pray.”

Goodwill Message from Wife of Senate President, Chair, Forum of Senators' Wives, on Visit of United States Congressional Delegation to Nigeria

The wife of the Senate President, Mrs Toyin Saraki, Chair, Forum of Senators Wives, 8th National Assembly, Nigeria, has extended her goodwill and warm wishes to the United States Congressional Delegation visiting Nigeria, and received by the President of the Senate, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, in his office yesterday.

In a goodwill message to His Excellency, the United States Ambassador, W Stuart Symington, Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki stated:

"I believe that the foundation of all development lies in proactive, predictive, productive and innovative legislation, for which I am a lifelong committed advocate, so I do hope I will have other opportunities to meet with, engage and collaborate with members of the United States Congress and their spouses."

Mrs Saraki sincerely wished the distinguished congressmen and congresswomen fruitful deliberations in Nigeria"

Wife of the Senate President, Mrs. Toyin Saraki has declared 2017 as the year to bridge the yawning gap in exclusive breastfeeding by Nigerian mothers through her pet project, Wellbeing Foundation.

As part of efforts set to achieve the goal, the Foundation titled this year's theme as: Sustaining Breastfeeding Together for the campaign.

WBFA as a non-governmental organization, mainly works through advocacy; healthcare provision and health promotion; awareness-creation; strategic policy advisory;? community and social mobilisation; and philanthropy.

Saraki said part of the marshal plans of the Foundation is to educate breastfeeding mothers on the benefits of breastfeeding both to them and their babies and how breastfeeding will help them stay away from some particular illnesses for the mother and the baby too.

"We are doing basically education and showing them what we will help breastfeed their baby well. For working mothers they have a problem with expressing their milk so we are encouraging mothers to express their milk with the Mandela product breast pump both the manual and the electrical breast pump, to help mother express good quantity of milk to serve the baby while the mother is not with the baby," she added.

According to her, the importance of breastfeeding in preventing deaths of children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is well recognised and documented in the Foundation.

Scaling up breastfeeding, she said could annually prevent approximately 800,000 deaths of children under the age of 5 years.

In Nigeria alone, 98 percent of new mothers initiate breastfeeding; however, by six months, only 25 percent of them are still exclusively breastfeeding.

Saraki also explained that the WBFA's Mamacare Antenatal and Postnatal Education Programme's findings have demonstrated that midwives are crucial and well placed to support mothers breastfeed thereby creating a healthy community.

UNICEF Nigeria Chief of Nutrition, Arjan de Wagt, said babies who are fed nothing but breastmilk from the moment they are born until they are six months old grow and develop better. Breast milk according to him, gives a child a head start in life and a chance to fight child malnutrition later in life."

Breastfeeding: Wellbeing Foundation Africa's MamaCare Birth Preparedness Education Improves Breastfeeding Rates Among Nigerian Mothers; Announces Plans To Achieve Scale

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), an organization that mainly works through advocacy; healthcare provision and health promotion; awareness-creation; strategic policy advisory;‎ community and social mobilisation; and philanthropy has highlighted its preliminary findings from its midwifery-centred MamaCare Antenatal and Postnatal Education Program for mothers across Nigeria, as it released its Global and National Policy Call, ahead of World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) 2017. The importance of breastfeeding in preventing deaths of children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is well recognised and documented. Scaling up breastfeeding could annually prevent approximately 800,000 deaths of children under the age of 5 years. In Nigeria alone, 98% of new mothers initiate breastfeeding; however, by six months, only 25% of them are still exclusively breastfeeding. Breast milk is the baby’s natural food, easily digested, and containing all the nutrients the baby requires for the first six months. It reduces the risk of infections and poor growth, and it is also a perfect way to bond with the baby. Breastfeeding is good for the mother, too; it lowers the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Mothers who breastfeed find it easier to lose the weight gained during pregnancy.

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa's Mamacare Antenatal and Postnatal Education Program's findings have demonstrated that midwives are crucial and well placed to support mothers breastfeed thereby creating a healthy community. For example, they help mothers try different positions to find the one that works best. Midwives by virtue of their role in community are accountable health professionals who work in partnership with women to throughout pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period. Launched in August 2015, the MamaCare Antenatal and Postnatal Programme seeks to improve reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition (RMNCAH+N) outcomes. Our qualified midwife lactation counselors have reached over 6,000 women with approximately 718 weekly attendance across the 3 areas (Lagos State, Kwara State and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja), through prenatal and postnatal contact interventions in the MamaCare continuum of care and counsel. Classes are held at various intervals: monthly, fortnightly and weekly. Each woman has had over 8 contacts with midwives during the pregnancy and postnatal period. To date, all women have made over 48 000 contacts with the midwives in the past two years, alone. One of our main focus areas is teaching mothers during pregnancy how they should breastfeed; the correct positioning; for how long; and that they should initiate breastfeeding within the first 30 minutes of giving birth. Our MamaCare midwives teach mothers how they can successfully breastfeed as with new skills, it may take some practice to get it right. Some women find breastfeeding comes very easily. Others find breastfeeding more difficult; however, with the right support from a qualified midwife, most mothers who try can breastfeed successfully. For the majority of women who do want to breastfeed, finding support when they encounter problems, such as failing to get the baby to latch on correctly, cracked/sore nipples, or returning to work can cause them to turn to formula milk, unfortunately.
In a global press call convened by Unicef and the World Health Organization, to advance the advocacy of the Global Breastfeeding Coalition, and featuring advocacy commitments from the Wife of Nigeria's President, H.E. Mrs Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, as well as the Honorable Minister of Health for Indonesia, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, through its Founder-President, H.E. Mrs Toyin Saraki, unveiled plans to take its best practices to scale in more Nigerian states. In a response to the BBC's inquiry as to Nigeria's efforts to scale breastfeeding promotion interventions during the global press call, Mrs Toyin Saraki stated:

"To tackle the critically important problem of poor nutrition among infants and young children in Nigeria, we have assembled a world-class team that is as diverse as the issue at hand."

"The proposed team combines expertise and experience from public and private sectors, marketing and academia, and implementers and thought leaders. Our technical approach will harness formative research to develop a communications strategy and media plan that can be executed through a range of channels, including interpersonal communications (IPC) and mass media. We will research, design, develop, implement, monitor, and document strategies, approaches, and activities, including evidence-based, creative communications, targeted at our audiences, that will overcome barriers to early and exclusive breastfeeding, improve the diets and frequency of meals in young children in the two states of Kaduna and Lagos in Nigeria, and, importantly, demonstrate that our approach is replicable and scalable across Nigeria. Our project team will be co-led by both McCann Global Health (New York/Washington, DC) and the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (Nigeria), supported by local Nigerian organizations: STB McCann (Nigeria), Silver Lining for the Needy Initiative (Nigeria), and Nigerian academic partners, including Dr. Francis Ohanyido (West African Academy of Public Health). We will also seek input from, and collaboration with, institutions and organizations that have contributed to the IYCF initiatives, including UNICEF, GAIN, Path, the Breastfeeding Innovations Working Group, and the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM). As partners of the Nigerian Breastfeeding Initiative, McCann and WBFA have been committed to finding opportunities to support behavior change programs to promote appropriate IYCF behaviors. We will be building off on Alive & Thrive’s programs in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Vietnam, which have also been observed through our involvement in the Breastfeeding Innovations Group. While each partner brings to this engagement, expertise in public and private sector approaches to behavior change communications, community engagement, health training, and private-public partnerships, we are equally committed to ensuring that knowledge and best practices established through Alive & Thrive are leveraged and further expanded in Nigeria. This begins with aligning closely with the Alive & Thrive framework: 1) policy/advocacy; 2) interpersonal communications and community mobilization; 3) mass communication; and 4) strategic use of data. We also acknowledge the critical need to ensure collaboration and alignment with key stakeholders, including A&T, government, NGO, and private sector partners.”

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa supports the Global Breastfeeding Coalition's Call To Action Priorities

1. Funding: Increase investment in programmes and policies that promote, protect and support early and exclusive breastfeeding.
2. The International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes: Fully implement this Code, with legislation and effective enforcement, in collaboration with national food and drug regulatory agencies
3. Maternity protection in the workplace: Enact paid and sufficient family leave and workplace breastfeeding policies
4. Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative: Implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding in maternity facilities
5. Breastfeeding counseling and training: Improve access to skilled breastfeeding counseling in healthcare facilities and community/social groups
6. Community support programmes: Encourage community-based, traditional and social networks that protect, promote, and support early and exclusive breastfeeding
7. Monitoring systems: Track progress on policies, programmes, and resource allocation.

Demographic Dividend: EmONC Healthworker Education In Kwara State Saves Lives At Birth

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa Founder and Wife of Nigeria's Senate President, Mrs Toyin Ojora-Saraki congratulated the latest cohort of health workers who have successfully completed the Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC) education course in Kwara; which is provided jointly by the Wellbeing Foundation Africa and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

In a statement welcoming the successful graduands of the EmONC training of doctors, nurses, midwives and other medical professionals at Omu Aran General Hospital, Irepodun LGA, Mrs Saraki said: " I am greatly encouraged by the lives saved through the EmONC training. Innovative training of this kind directly saves lives of mothers and newborns and also helps us to attain a demographic dividend in the region and country.”

“Since we chose to harness resources and techniques towards making Kwara State a flagship of excellence in implementing global health innovation, in Nigeria. The results are evident, an increased preparedness of medical workers to predict and provide care for mothers, reinforced by improved data surveillance, towards beneficial eventualities in childbirth outcomes, and a clear drop in mortality rates in line with sustainable development goals targets." Mrs. Saraki added.

But having more than two kids doesn't mean you aren't practicing Family Planning. Kindly check what Family Planning fully entails and you will grasp the meaning beyond having more than two kids.

Family Planning is the process of cutting down over procreation.

NwaAmaikpe:



She is not in the best position to give such advise..


She has more than two kids.
So what does she know about family planning

As Nigeria joined the rest of the world to commemorate the year 2017 World Population Day, The Founder-President of Wellbeing Foundation, Mrs. Toyin Saraki and other stakeholders have called for Increase in the budget allocation for Family Planning by government at all levels.

She explained that: “Family planning information and contraception is a fundamental human right, empowering women to decide when and where to have a child, and how many children they wish to bear, according to their circumstances, we recommend that mothers space their childbirth by 1000 days, to better sustain the health and socio-economic well-being of mother, child and family.”

However to provide family planning services, governments have therefore been urged to increase funding for Family Planning and ensure increase in budgetary allocations for FP/CBS in the state to cover consumables, supplies and infrastructure, commodity , logistics, management, training of skilled providers and demand creation.

Nigeria’s population is expected to surpass that of the U.S. by 2050, according to new UN projections that predict the West African country could be the world’s third most populous by the end of this century.

The 2013 NDHS results indicate that on average Nigerian women give birth to 5.5 children by end of their childbearing years, meanwhile the goal of the National Policy on Population for SDG is to achieve a reduction in the total fertility rate of at least 0.6 children every five years (National Population Commission, 2004).

Wife of the Senate President, Mrs Toyin Saraki has scored Nigeria low on newborn survival, saying the level of improvement in reducing deaths in newborn babies globally has not played out in Nigeria.

Mrs Saraki, in a keynote address at the 10th annual general meeting and scientific conference of the Nigerian Society of Neonatal Medicine (NISONM), stated that there has been little improvement in reducing deaths in newborns.

Mrs Saraki, president/Founder, Wellbeing Foundation Africa, represented by Mrs Amy Oyekunle, Executive Director, Global, Wellbeing Foundation Africa stated that records of 240,000 babies dying out of at least seven million babies born yearly in Nigeria was totally unacceptable.

“We all know, there has been a level of improvement in the reduction of under-five child mortality on the global scene, over the past few decades. However, while this improvement has played out a bit in Nigeria, such cannot be said about newborn deaths.

“Records show that at least seven million babies are born in Nigeria each year. Unfortunately, 240,000 of these deaths die in their first month of life, including 94,000 that tragically die on the same day at birth. This is totally unacceptable,’’ she said.

While social and community-based determinants of health such as age of the mother, antenatal education, poverty, mother’s literacy and religious and traditional beliefs still affect newborn survival in Nigeria, Mrs Saraki said it was crucial that cost effective and innovative solutions geared towards newborn health be implemented.

She, however, assured that WBFA will continue to work with other stakeholders like NISONM to enshrine best practices that can improve newborn survival in Nigeria.

Considering the challenges plaguing our healthcare system in Nigeria, including the high rate of maternal and neonatal deaths, Saraki urged that the role of midwives should also be considered in improving survival of newborns in Nigeria.

Earlier, representative of the Federal Ministry of Health and Head of Child Health, Dr Bose Adediran, stated that the ministry had put in many interventions to tackle newborn deaths, adding that new statistics to come from the 2018 National Health and Demographic Survey will attest to this.

She declared that Nigerian government was committed to survival of children and newborns, and reaching their full potentials, thus the Health Minister, Professor Isaac Adewole has been working on ensuring functional Primary Health Care Centres to provide continuum of care services.

Chief Medical Director, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan Professor Temitope Alonge also stressed the need for babies in the womb to be protected from all assaults, including exposure to Lead, which could prevent them from attaining their potentials in life.