There are rays of hope to addressing the issue of maternal and child mortality in Kano as principal officers of the state House of Assembly and development partners brainstorm to facilitate the speedy entrenchment of Kano State Free Maternal and Child Healthcare Bill.
Records have shown that Kano state alone represents about 17 percent of cumulative maternal and child mortality rate in Nigeria; the development which necessitated the need for a legal framework to address the issue comprehensively, in view of which a 2-day legislative retreat was organized in Kaduna for the stakeholders to identify and correct the grey areas in the proposed bill before its eventual transmission to the State House of Assembly.
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Speaking on Friday at the retreat organised by the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), the Speaker, Kano state House of Assembly Engineer Hamisu Ibrahim Chidari assured of the lawmakers’ commitment to the health and welfare of the people of Kano, stressing that the Assembly is always willing and ready to give all the needed support to ensure speedy passage of the bill once transmitted to the house.
Earlier in his welcoming remarks, the Executive Director, Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), Dr Ibrahim Zikirullahi identified deplorable state of primary healthcare centres and lack of drugs as major factors perpetuating the issues of maternal and child health in the state.
“As noted in recent interventions at other fora, many of the issues resulting in death of women and newborns continue to confront citizens at grassroots. For instance, CHRICED discovered through research and tracking of expenditures of about 50 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) in Gwale and Kumbotso Local Government Areas that most of the primary healthcare facilities are plagued by several challenges as most PHCs are still poorly equipped and lack of drug availability as well as well as cleanliness of the environment remain major challenges.
He emphasized that “most of the PHCs are not in good shape and require urgent reformation and upgrade.”
He informed the lawmakers that over 80 to 90 percent of the budgetary allocation to PHCs in the state are spent on recurrent expenditures with little or nothing left for capital projects hence the current state facilities especially in rural areas.
Presenting the draft bill, Professor A. B. Ahmed of the faculty of Law, Bayero University Kano, express optimism that if pass into law, the bill will bring about rapid and radical changes in the healthcare services and delivery in the state.
The 17-sectioned proposed bill is meant to achieve substantial reduction in maternal and child mortality in Kano state; to provide a legal framework for the promotion and advancement of maternal and child healthcare, and to ensure accessibility of qualitative and comprehensive maternal and child healthcare to women and children in Kano state.
The retreat was organised for the stakeholders comprising the state legislature and the development partners to give some final touches to the proposed bill which seeks to make maternal and child health care not only accessible but also free for the people of Kano state.
Series of papers were presented at the opening of the retreat which include among others; Introduction/Presentation of draft revised maternal and child health bill; by Professor A.B. Ahmad. Key issues affecting Maternal and Child Healthcare; the need for free maternal and child health law, by Dr Hafsat Yahaya Yakasai,
