Wife of the Anambra State Governor, Mrs Nonye Soludo has said that one of the most strategic benefits of the ongoing free antenatal care and delivery services is that their long-term existence will cut down significantly the figures of maternal and infant deaths in the state.
Mrs Soludo who stated this in Awka, on Wednesday, explained that the expansion of the programme to live through the tenure of the present administration in Anambra State will leave a transformative imprint on the state’s health sector given that designated health facilities would have been given the boost to work better.
The governor’s wife said that 330 primary health care centres, and general hospitals where the services are available, have been carefully assessed, while those that have issues of standardization, manpower and logistics are already getting the government’s attention.
She also explained that crucial attention has been given to health facilities in rural areas, especially in communities with fewer hospitals, most importantly, those in flood-prone and hard-to-reach areas.
She further asked all Anambra households especially low-income families to take full advantage of the free antenatal care and delivery services, knowing that the programs have been introduced in their best interest.
The governor’s wife explained that what makes the programme very unique is that it is easily accessible to every woman living in Anambra State, and does not have limitations in terms of accommodation, schedule and results.
She restated that the programme is completely free, and urged any woman who is asked to pay for them to report to appropriate channels or to call the numbers on the flier.
The free antenatal care and delivery services are part of the state government’s response measures to the current economic difficulties in Nigeria, coming from the recent fuel subsidy removal.
One of the aims of the exercise is to safeguard mother and child health while reducing the economic toll of natal services on low-income households.