Maternal, Infant Mortality: Katsina Govt Employs 52 Nurses of Foundation Year Programme
By Alex Uangbaoje, Katsina
As part effort to address shortage of female health workers in health facilities as well as address infant and maternal mortality in Katsina State, particularly in the rural communities, the state government have employed 52 nurses and midwives who graduated from the Foundation Year Programme (FYP), an initiative of Women for Health (W4H).
Dr. Fatima Adamu, W4H National Programme Manager, made this known at the weekend during the graduation of a set of 107 students of the FYP in the state.
The intervention programme being implemented by W4H, is a UK Government supported initiative, through her Department for International Development (DFID), led by Health Partners International, in partnership with Save the Children and DAI Nigeria.
Dr. Adamu, appeal to the state to give automatic employment to other beneficiaries of the project in the state in order to bridge the shortage of health workers gap and meet the health demands of women and children in the rural areas.
The project was targeted at recruiting young women, single and married from rural areas and helps them to get professional training in health related courses to return to their communities as qualified health workers where they can have the greatest impact on maternal, infant and child mortality and act as role models and champions.
Delivering his speech at the event, Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State said the appointments of beneficiaries of the programme will be tied to clinics in their communities.
Masari, expressed worry over attitude of some elites and health workers who influence to serve in the urban and semi urban areas leaving people in the rural communities to suffer while stressing the need for the programme to be extended to the hard to reach areas and rural communities to meet the health demands of populace.
Earlier, the Katsina State Chairman, FYP, Suleiman Saulawa said the programme have started yielding positive results and helping to reduce the needless death (maternal and child mortality) among women and children in the rural communities.
Meanwhile, the Emir of Katsina, Dr. Abdulmumini Kabir Usman called on the graduands who were employed to persevere, remain committed to selfless service to humanity and be God fearing while discharging their duties.
The W4H programme is a 5-years programme being implemented in 5 Northern States of Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Zamfara and Yobe.
