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7.3million teenage births recorded yearly in developing countries
By IFEOMA Ikem
Mr Oluyomi Abayomi Finnih, a former President of the Society of Gynaecologists and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON), has called on the federal government to speedily address the issues of maternal/Neonatal mortality rate.
At the Medical Women Association of Nigeria, MWAN’s one-day Business Seminar and award night of the 40th anniversary in Lagos, he said maternal mortality/neonatal maternal rate is still high.
He said 45 percent of Nigerian women marry before 18 years and that from the United Nation’s statistics, girls under 17 are responsible for 7.3 million babies in developing countries.
Finnih urged MWAN to look into health care issues. According to him, “It is a matter that should give concern to our medical practitioners. I will recommend the going into activities beyond reproductive health.”
He also admonished practitioners to “look into members’ welfare as well as issues which relate to gender discriminations.”
MWAN Lagos chapter president in her welcome speech, Dr Modupe Abiola, said the association has impacted positively on the lives of women and children in the state through various programmes organized either solely, or in conjunction with like-spirited individuals, corporations and the state government.
“We passionately advocate for core values like girl-child education and access to basic health care for women and children, we have also actively supported the female arm of the Nigeria medical students association (NIMSA),with a view to providing mentorship for the next generation of medical women.
“It was opportunity and first of its kind in our association to interact with our elders who have built the MWAN Lagos that we see today, which has contributed in no small measure to the national and international bodies”.
The association’s secretary, Dr Yetunde Oludare, lamented the state of the industry in recent time. She said to make headway, all stakeholders must work together and begin to see it as a business.
“We need to function maximally, hence we need the Value Chain,” she stated.
She defined Value Chain as sequence of steps needed by any organization (even medical practice) to deliver services with value and precision.
We need to empower ourselves and learn to manage well. Medical Doctors have been found to be the best Health Care Managers because they understand Healthcare.