Lagos to stem maternal death at grassroots

A cross section of Neighbourhood Watch officers at the event.

Kazeem Ugbodaga

The Lagos State Government is set to stem maternal death rate at the grassroots.

One of the ways it plans to stem maternal mortality is to reposition the Primary Healthcare Centres, PHCs, mostly visited during child birth by pregnant women across the state.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Health, Dr. Femi Onanuga disclosed this at the monthly interactive meeting organized by the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs for Community Development Committees (CDCs) and Neighbourhood Watch security outfit with other stakeholders across the State, held in Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

“The PHCs in the State are meant to take care of the people at the grassroots level so as to reduce pressure on all the General Hospitals. The present administration will not relent at ensuring that it strengthens the PHCs by providing all the basic amenities, including the personnel that will be readily available to attend to patients who come for treatment.

“The PHCs will cater for the health needs of residents and reduce the incidence of maternal mortality. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has committed public funds to uplift medical infrastructure so as ensure that first class health service is delivered to the people of the State,” he said.

The special adviser charged community leaders to ensure that they monitor all PHCs and other medical infrastructure within their communities to prevent them from being misused.

Also speaking at the event, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Communities and Communications, Kehinde Bamigbetan, implored all Community Development Associations, CDAs, and other stakeholders in the state to ensure that they took ownership of all infrastructure provided by the government for betterment of their communities.

He explained that the present administration was determined to ensure that it made life more meaningful for all residents in the state by providing infrastructural amenities, adding that the government could not move forward without the support of the CDAs.

Bamigbetan urged the CDAs to guide jealously all basic amenities the present administration had provided across the state in order to reposition the grassroots.

Speaking, the Director in charge of the Light-up Lagos Project, Engr. Okanlawon Olowu said government was committed to lighting up the entire state so that the environment would be secured for investors.

He said that 365 streets had been lit up across the state, which included Ogudu Road, Maidan-Agiliti Road, Ajelogo Market Street, Agboyi/Kola Iyamore Street, Brook Estate, CMD Road, Magodo, Hassan Street and Adebanwo Street all within Kosofe Local Government Area.

Also lit up are Ikorodu, Awolowo I and II roads, Ikorodu, Ring Road, Imota, Mobolaji Bank Anthony Road, Iju Road, Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Eko Bridge, Lagos Island, Third Mainland Bridge, Oba Ogunji Road, Capitol Road in Agege, Murtala Mohammed way, Yaba, among others.

Olowu charged everyone to take custody of all the amenities, especially the electrification projects undertaken by the government.

“You have authority to challenge anybody working on the Light-up Project so as to verify if the person is permitted to carry out any operation whatsoever with the light up projects,” he said.