Free Malaria Treatment to Reduce Mortality - Imongan
By Simon Ebegbulem
Lagos

THE Edo State Commissioner of Health, Dr Wilson Imongan explained yesterday that the state government approved the free anti-malaria treatment for pregnant women and children in order to drastically reduce what he described as the unacceptable prevalence of maternal and child mortality rate in the state.

Dr Imongan who spoke while declaring open a two- week multi-media materials Development Workshop organized by the state Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the UNFPA/CIDA project, said that government could no longer tolerate a situation whereby children and pregnant mothers finds it difficult to receive treatment at government's hospitals because of lack of funds.

He therefore described the gesture as a concrete demonstration of the present administration's commitment towards providing quality and efficient health care delivery services to the entire citizens of the state.

He added that it was the social responsibility of any government to secure the lives of its people and condemned a situation where a pregnant woman would have to lose her life while performing her biological responsibility of child bearing.

"And I want to assure that the state government will continue to support laudable programmes that are geared towards the medical well being of the people. And I want to also commend the efforts of our partners like the UNFPA and the CIDA in ensuring that we succeed in our cause," he stated.

Speaking earlier, the Executive Director and Consultant to UNFPA/CIDA project, Dr Fisayo Fagbemi, said the workshop was aimed at prioritizing reproductive health issues.

Source: www.allafrica.com