Tag: 000 Health Workers

The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Health & Social Welfare, has reaffirmed its commitment to reducing maternal and newborn mortality rates in the country. In a statement made during a Radio Nigeria Network news program, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako emphasized the critical importance of retraining frontline health workers to address these pressing health concerns. He highlighted that this year’s World Health Day theme, “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures,” aligns with the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s agenda to improve healthcare outcomes in the nation. Dr. Salako further explained that the government is prioritizing efforts to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths. As part of this commitment, the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative was introduced to help achieve universal health coverage, thereby saving lives and alleviating both physical and financial burdens on families. He underscored that the initiative is crucial to ensuring healthier futures for mothers and children across Nigeria. One of the key strategies in this effort is the ongoing training and retraining of healthcare professionals. The government has set a target to train at least 120,000 frontline health workers, with nearly half of them already having received training. Dr. Salako stressed that improving the skill set of healthcare providers is essential to reducing maternal mortality by at least 20% and infant mortality by 15% by 2027. He also emphasized the importance of continued professional development for practitioners, with annual evidence of skill advancement required in addition to license renewals. To ensure equitable access to maternal and newborn care, Dr. Salako revealed that the government is actively working on expanding primary healthcare centers across the country. Additionally, initiatives like the Maternal & Neo-Natal Mortality Reduction Innovation (MAMI) are being developed to specifically target local governments with high maternal mortality rates. These efforts, he noted, are designed to bring essential healthcare services closer to communities at the grassroots level, ensuring that every Nigerian has access to the care they need.