The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has commended midwives across the state for their resilence, commitment and sacrifice while working to assist women giving birth in hospitals and maternity homes amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The governor said this in commemoration of the International Midwives Day marked by the International Confederation of Midwives and other health agencies.
According to him, “As the world marks the International Midwives Day, we celebrate and applaud midwives in Edo State who work daily in maternity wards in hospitals and clinics across the state to ensure that our women give birth safely amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“We appreciate them for their commitment to duty and sacrifices in ensuring safe deliveries as well as ensuring mothers and babies are well taken care of during and immediately after the delivery process.
“We assure that we would continue to make their work environment conducive, which we have demonstrated with the various initiatives implemented through the Edo State Healthcare Improvement Programme (Edo-HIP), through which Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) have been equipped to serve as key nodes in the effort to check the coronavirus pandemic in the state.”
The governor said the state government has refurbished over 30 PHCs across the state under Edo-HIP, and provided health insurance cover for antenatal care in the centres.
According to him, “Our commitment to strengthening the primary healthcare system in the state is to ensure that workers, such as midwives are provided with all the support they need to effectively deliver on their tasks. This is why we have automated the system and trained them to better serve the people.”
“In the course of the implementation of the Edo-HIP programme, we have trained the midwives, exposing them to contemporary ideas and skillset for better service. We have also provided basic amenities in the health centres to ensure that they are best equipped to provide essential services,” he added.
