Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, explained that his Government is ready to sustain the Village Health Workers protect through the timely release of funds, so that the state could reap the maximum benefit.
Speaking during the Dissemination of the MNCH intervention achievements at the Government House in Gombe, the Governor said, the 57 per cent coverage of
tn the state was not adequate and so wanted it to cover all the 114 wards of the States.
He then called on other Non Governmental Organisations to seek for areas of intervention, because he believed that through collaboration with international organizations, the poor indices recorded would be corrected.
Speaking during the Dissemination of the MNCH intervention achievements in Gombe, the Head of the MNCH, Bolanle Oyebola said the scheme improved access to MNCH services, bridged gaps in Human Resource for Health, especially at the Primary Health care Centres, increased commodity availability, health promotion and effective behaviour change at community, PHC and Government levels.
Oyebola said in the past, high fertility rate and low level of institutional births were the leading causes of high mortality rates in Gombe State.
She said the health sector was limited in its response to the undesirable trend in Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health due to factors such as weak health systems, financial and cultural barriers and weakened community accountability structures.
Oyebola said before the commencement of the project in 2009 and redefined over the years, child delivery at home attended by Traditional Birth Attendants was the norm and widely practiced in Gombe communities.
The Village Health Workers project is the fulcrum of the Maternal Neonatal and Child Health project co-funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, led by the Gombe State Government through the Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency with technical support from the Society for Family Health.
The project is the first Government led and owned village health workers programme in Nigeria.
It is implemented in 57 priority wards of eleven local government areas in Gombe State
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