Wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, says everybody must take responsibility and strategic action towards addressing high maternal and child mortality in the country.
Mrs Buhari made the appeal in Abeokuta at three-day training workshop for the South West region in Abeokuta, Ogun.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop was based on reproductive Maternal Newborn Child Adolescence Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N).
Represented by Mrs Gimbiya Dogara, the wife of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mrs Buhari said people at the workshop had the potentials to influence the indices and change the trajectory for good.
According to her, deaths do not happen at the Presidential Villa alone but in all the states of the country and thus the need for all hands to be on deck.
She said strategic actions must be regional based because the uniqueness and peculiarity of each population cannot be left out.
“I wouldn’t bore you with the disheartening statistics of maternal and child mortality or the huge cost of malnutrition in Nigeria.
“I know that this room is occupied with knowledgeable individuals and key stakeholders who have the capacity to influence the indices and change our trajectory for good.
“It is however important to note these deaths happen in the states that constitutes Nigeria, not just at the Presidential Villa.
“And except every one of us takes responsibility and strategic action towards addressing these issues in our immediate regions, they may remain unchanged and even grow worse.
“We cannot also leave out the uniqueness and peculiarity of each population that’s is why we’ve chosen to come down to the zones where we can find more common grounds to address maternal and child mortality,” she said.
NAN recalls that the wife of the president had on Oct. 9, 2017, launched the Governors Wives Advocacy Coalition in Abuja.
NAN also reports that Mrs Buhari established the coalition with promise to support the states activities by carrying out capacity building workshops with the Governor’s wife as the Chief Advocate and other technical officers.
The wives of the governors of the South Western states and other stakeholders were present at the event which would end on Thursday.
Participants are expected to take part in technical sessions throughout the workshop. (NAN)