Gombe State government is intensifying efforts to reduce maternal and newborn deaths with the launch of the EMBRACE Project, a 5-year intervention designed to improve access to quality emergency healthcare for mothers and newborns.
The initiative will initially cover three Local Government Areas, targeting improved healthcare delivery through facility upgrades, training and community engagement.
Al facility-based study in Gombe State put the maternal mortality ratio at 993 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020, while perinatal mortality stood at 76.1 deaths per 1,000 births.
These figures underscore the need to strengthen emergency obstetric and newborn care of the State.
The EMBRACE Project is therefore expected to support this effort through 18 health facilities across 3 LGAs, comprising; 3 secondary and 15 primary healthcare centres.
Representing the State Commissioner for Health at the launch, the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Yahaya Mohammed Goje, said the government Ownership and Capacity Development are central to ensuring sustainability. “Right from the word go, the State has owned it. We are on course.”
The project’s Technical Director, Dr. Aliyu Gaji Aliyu, says interventions will include facility upgrades, equipment, health worker training and improved referral systems.
“EMBRACE is essentially improving access for mothers and communities to quality emergency care for mothers and newborns.”
With funding secured for an initial three years within a potential five-year programme, the project hopes to demonstrate results before expanding to other Local Government Areas of the State.
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(Editor: Ken Eseni)
