Pregnant women who are registered for ante-natal at the Rivers State Health Centres will enjoy monetary incentives.
Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi sated this Thursday during an advocacy campaign on maternal and infant health at Igwuruta, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Governor Amaechi represented by his Commissioner for Health, Dr Sampson Parker said such gesture was part of its free medical care scheme to encourage women to access the health centres. According to him, he stated that the token was to support the women who may have difficulty with transportation and other materials necessary for their well-being.
“The government has decided to provide a token of N25,000 to pregnant mothers in government primary health centres to encourage them during their ante-natal period until delivery.
The governor also added that children on vaccination or immunization are not exempted from such benefit, adding that only mothers who are registered with its free medical care scheme can access the fund.
“Our mission is to ensure that our mothers and children do not die due to preventable circumstance but to keep them fit during pregnancy.
The governor stated that he has considered potency of advocacy in solving health challenges and as a preventable measure to curb disease ravaging rural communities and has set aside funds for this ventures in the 2012 budget.
Also the wife of the Governor, Dame Judith Amaechi in her speech said it was necessary for women to go for regular medical test to ascertain their health status. She frowned that most women do not access the primary health centres located in their domain.
According to her, it is very good we live a healthy life and we must go for test regularly, that is the only way we can reduce infant and maternal mortality.
Mrs Amaechi whose NGO, the Empowerment Support Initiative (ESI) collaborated with the Ministry of Health, Association of Lady Pharmacists, Rivers State Agency control for HIV/AIDS and the Ikwerre Local Government Area enjoined women to access government free medical effort and stated that such measure was a surest way of actualizing the millennium development goals in health sector.
“We will continue to organize outreach health mission programme to educate our women on health matters. This is the only way we can actualize MDGs 2015 in health sectors”.
The women who conversed on the ESI Model Nursery Igwuruta were given pet talk, on drugs administration, HIV/AIDS, issues on maternal health and social challenges.
It will be recalled that ESI and the Ministry of Health has signed a pact to provide mobile medical outreach programme in rural communities where women are diagnosed and treated accordingly while critical cases are transferred to the general hospitals.
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