By Tina George, Minna
The Zainab Muhammed Bima Initiative, has distributed delivery kits to pregnant women in Minna, Niger state.
The gesture is to reduce maternal mortality and encourage women to give birth in health facilities.
Donated at Dr Musa Inuwa Primary Health Care, 150 women benefited in the Initiative’s under the Save A Mother campaign.
The Founder, Zainab Muhammad explained that she embarked on the initiative because she observed that many women do not deliver in the hospital due to their inability to get the delivery kit.
The delivery kit is one of the necessities needed by an expectant mother when going to the health centre to deliver. It is used after delivery for mother and children.
Each of the kit has sanitary pad, an underpad, hand glove, cream, surgical blade, cotton wool, soap, spirit amongst others.
On average, a delivery kit costs about N5,000 depending on what the mother may be able to afford.
Zainab stated that the donation would further complement the government’s effort towards reducing maternal mortality in the state.
“If the women go for ante-natal or health centres to deliver, there will be little or no complications unlike giving birth at home. This delivery kit will go a long way to encourage them to go to the hospital.
‘This is why the initiative felt the need to step in with the save a mother outreach and assist these women as government alone cannot do it.
“Pregnancy is an integral part of human existence. If women who get pregnant don’t deliver safely and have healthy babies, the world as we know it would be completely different”, she explained.
Zainab stated that the Initiative intends to reach out to 2000 women in northern Nigeria and reduce maternal mortality in the region.
The Niger state Family Planning Coordinator, Mrs Dorcas Abu lauded the gesture of the Initiative and stressed the need for ante-natal visits and delivery in the health centres.
She urged the women not to sell the delivery kits as it would be very important for them at the time of their delivery.
The beneficiaries appreciated the gesture and assured the Founder of the Initiative that they would ensure they go through their ante-natal sessions and give birth in the health centres.
One of the pregnant women, Maryam Suleiman said that the contents of the delivery kit were worth thousands, adding that it would help them reduce their expenses as things are very expensive in the markets now.
She noted they needed all assistance they could get to reduce the out of purse expenses they incur before, during and after delivery.
A member of the Niger state House of Assembly representing Chachanga Constituency, Ahmed Marafa applauded the initiative for its gesture.
He noted that the delivery kit will help in reducing the indices of maternal mortality in Chachanga local government area.
“This initiative is good. It will go a long way in saving the baby and mother. It will also encourage the mother to go to the health centre to give birth. It has created awareness for the need to deliver in the health centre and I applaud the Founder of this initiative for this gesture.”
