2011 International Women's Day Advocacy Paper

MARCH 8TH 2011 MARKS 100 YEARS OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY .

ADVOCACY PAPER BY SAM AJUFOH

ACTION FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

email:actionforcd@yahoo.com

Phone:08033479893

TITLE:100 YEARS OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY, A CALL ON THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA TO REDUCE MATERNAL MORTALITY IN 2011.

Nigeria currently has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world. Thus a genuine and sincere way of commemorating 100 years of international women's day in Nigeria, is for government to work to ensure the reduction of maternal mortality; being one of the eight millennium development goals in Nigeria in 2011.

From the experiences on the field from the project we implemented from October 2009 to October 2010: Improving Reproductive Health in Nigeria (IRHIN Project) in partnership with Society For Family Health (SFH) we make the following recommendations to ensure the reduction of maternal mortality in Nigeria in 2011.

1.For Primary Health Care Centres to be better equipped and strengthened to provide more (all) family planning products and services.In order to reduce the rate of un intended pregnancies that increases the risk of maternal mortality.

2.For the Federal and state ministries of health to work with the Society for Family Health (SFH) to end stock outs of family planning products currently experienced and ensure the regular supply of family planning products in primary health care centres.

3.For training and retraining of health care providers on family planning and family planning counseling.

4.For Primary Health Care Centres to be Strengthened for effective family planning data collection, collation and analysis.

5.For the provision of adequate qualified personnel, equipments, materials and job aids for family planning, maternal health and safe delivery In community health centres.

6.There should be improved linkages between the federal, state ministries of health and primary health care centres.

7.The Federal, State and local governments should increase the funding of the health sector for improved service delivery.

8.For the training of Private Patent Medicine Vendors (PPMVs),Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs)

and Civil Society Organizations and their integration into the national, state and and local government family planning and maternal health services delivery system.