Nigerian News Beat

Lagos State governor Gov Babatunde Fashola, says the establishment of seven Maternal and Child Care Centres in the state will improve access to maternal and child healthcare and reduce deaths.

The governor spoke in Lagos on Thursday during the inauguration ceremony of the seventh Maternal and Child Care Centre (MCC) and a School of Nursing in Igando area of the state.

He said that the new specialised facility in Igando would improve access to care as mothers and children would no longer need to travel to Ikeja or Festac Hospitals for services.  

"What all these MCCs in Ikorodu, Ajegunle, Festac and now Igando strive to achieve is to ensure that women in need of gynaecologists and other specialists do not have to drive almost 21 kilometres.

"It means those who used to drive from Ikorodu to Ayinke House in Ikeja now stay in Ikorodu, while those who drove from Ajegunle to Island Maternity now stay in Ajegunle for care. Those who used to drive from Amuwo Odofin no longer need to come to Island Maternity and Ikeja.

"This can make the difference between a mother who survives and a baby who arrives alive because we have shortened the distance to care," the governor said.

Fashola said that the provision of the nursing school was in furtherance of the government’s efforts to train and provide healthcare personnel to meet the needs of people. He said that location of the school in the hospital’s premises would help provide opportunity for the students to have access to health facilities for practical knowledge.

The governor said that the two projects were pointers to the fact that the state government was committed to the development of the Alimosho local government area of Lagos state. He also said that plans for the transformation of the local government is in progress.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, said that the two projects would impact positively on healthcare delivery.

He said that the new nursing school was equipped with modern facilities to effectively train students in nursing, midwifery and public health.