HEALTH Diseases

Anambra Partners With UNICEF To Reduce Maternal Deaths

by admin on | 2026-06-28 17:13:12

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By Mohammad Bala Imam

The Anambra State Government has renewed its commitment to reducing maternal deaths by working closely with UNICEF and other development partners to improve healthcare for mothers and children across the state.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, made this known during a stakeholders' meeting to review the state's maternal and child health performance for June 2026.

He said the government is determined to end preventable maternal deaths and ensure that women and children have better access to quality healthcare services.

Obidike also revealed that the state plans to carry out a household mapping exercise to obtain accurate population data.

He explained that the data will help the government plan better, distribute resources more effectively, and improve healthcare services.

During the meeting, health experts presented reports on maternal health, immunisation, and disease surveillance.

The reports showed that Anambra performed better than the national average in several key health indicators.

Antenatal care coverage for the fourth visit reached 84.9 per cent, while 83.2 per cent of births took place in health facilities.

Skilled health workers attended 91.8 per cent of deliveries.

Postnatal care also remained high, with coverage of 73.2 per cent for mothers and 71.2 per cent for newborns.

The UNICEF team praised the state's progress but called for improvements in health data management.

UNICEF Health Systems Specialist, Dr Emmanuel Emedo, described the continued use of the "Black Book" reporting system as outdated and stressed the need for accurate birth registration and stronger disease surveillance.

Despite the positive results, the report raised concerns about newborn and child deaths and noted that maternal and neonatal deaths are still being under-reported due to differences in data from the DHIS2 and MPDSR reporting systems.

The report also identified challenges affecting immunisation in some local government areas, including cold-chain equipment failures, gaps in digital reporting, and an increasing number of children who have not received any vaccines.

Health officials said surveillance teams are continuing to monitor diseases such as measles, yellow fever, acute flaccid paralysis (AFP), Lassa fever, and Mpox.

To address these challenges, the state government announced plans to strengthen emergency maternal care, improve patient referral systems, expand disease surveillance, and enhance primary healthcare services across Anambra.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr Obiageli Uchebo, commended UNICEF, other development partners, stakeholders, and frontline health workers for their support.

She called for continued collaboration to sustain the progress made and further reduce maternal and child deaths in the state.