The EU-UN Spotlight Initiative Project on Wednesday inaugurated two maternity waiting homes in Bagarawa and Kofar Rini Primary Health Care (PHC) centres of Bodinga and Sokoto North local government areas in Sokoto state.
The homes are meant to cater for high risk pregnant women in the rural areas who mostly came from distant places and less privileged persons in the communities.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the homes were refurbished and fully equipped with basic obstetric emergency care, live saving drugs, consumables and food stocks along with cooking materials for the pregnant women.
Speaking at the occasion, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Ali Inname, said the project aimed to safeguard and enhance the lives of pregnant women as well as ensure safety for women of child bearing age.
The Inname who was represented by the Director Public Health from the Ministry of Health, Dr Abdulrahaman Dantsoho, noted that issues of mortality are very high in Africa.
He urged women and their husbands to patronise available health facilities for their improved health wellbeing adding that the maternity waiting homes were to reduce the hardships pregnant women face during child delivery.
He explained that the accommodation was necessary because most of the women found it difficult to go back to their homes in distant communities and start going to the centre again for Hospital delivery.
He listed reasons for delay towards accessing antenatal care and hospital services during pregnancy to include ignorance, poverty and cultural beliefs.
Inname commended the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative, through UNFPA and other donors who have been supportive to the state government on diverse areas.
He noted that the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative Project has assisted in providing care for the people of the community and called on people to reciprocate by playing their own part through increased access and sustaining the gesture.
Malam Umar Idris, the UNFPA EU-UN Spotlight Project Support Officer in Sokoto state, urged benefiting communities to maximally take advantage of the valuable opportunity of maternity waiting homes.
Umar noted that the gesture from EU-UN founded Spotlight Initiative therefore appealed to officials and local authorities to ensure sustainability.
Responding on behalf of the community, Sarkin Gabas Na Babarawa, Malam Sule Dan-Isa, expressed appreciation over the gesture.
Dan-Isa described the project as benefiting residents and it would go a long way in reducing deaths associated with pregnancy and child bearing.
He also assured that they will continue to guide whatever that is given to them religiously and give their own individual contributions to help achieve the desired impacts.
NAN reports that the Sokoto State Government, with support from EU-UN Spotlight Initiative Project has trained 30 health workers and volunteers on management of maternity waiting homes for pregnant women.
Participants were from the two Health centers comprising community midwives, Community Health Extension Workers (CHEW) responsible for the supervision of waiting rooms at Primary Health Care (PHC) centres.