Bolanle Ambode Presents Gifts To First Baby Of The Year

…Renews call for immunization of children

By Folashade Kadiri

Wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Bolanle Ambode, has restated her call on pregnant women in the state, to patronize government health facilities for safe delivery and to always immunize their children against killer diseases.

She made the call at the annual celebration of the first baby of the year in Lagos State, at the Island Maternity Hospital, Lagos Island on Tuesday.

Wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Bolanle Ambode (3rd left); HC Health, Dr. Jide Idris (2nd right); SA. Primary Healthcare, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga (r); Fed. Commissioner, National Population Commission, Barr. Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin (3rd right); and parent of the first baby of the year, Mr. & Mrs Wasiu & Basirat Adegbesan (L), during the presentation of gifts & birth certificate to the baby born 12:00am., weighing 3.7kg, at the Lagos lsland Maternity Hospital, on Tuesday, 1stJanuary, 2019.

The first baby in 2019 for Lagos State was a boy, born at 12am to Mr and Mrs Adegbesan, weighing 3.7Kg. The second baby at the same hospital was a girl born to Mr and Mrs Taiwo at exactly 12.01am and weighed 2.8kg.

Mrs Ambode said the huge government expenditure on infant and maternal health infrastructure, could only be justified by commensurate use of the modern facilities, by the women, their babies and the children.

She noted further that government’s efforts at stemming maternal and infant mortality would be slow in materialising, if expectant mothers did not go to the centres to use the facilities.

According to her, "I wish to note that Lagos State Government has continued to strengthen the health sector with the provision of neo-natal care units, equipment and resources to our state hospitals, to enhance the quality of maternal and child care services in our state.

Wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Bolanle Ambode (3rd left); HC Health, Dr. Jide Idris (3rd right); SA. Primary Healthcare, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga (2nd right); MD. Randle General Hospital, Dr. Aduke Odutayo (L); and parent of the first baby of the year, Mr. & Mrs Akinwale & Amudalat Ojo (2nd left), during the presentation of gifts to the first baby born 1:58am., weighing 2kg, at the Randle General Hospital, on Tuesday, 1st January, 2019.

‘The workers in the PHCs and General Hospitals are committed and determined to provide quality care, but you have to go there and use the facilities. Mother and Child Centres are also being located in nearly every neighbourhood of the state, for excellent infant and maternal health care delivery."

Stressing the need for immunization, she said: "My passionate appeal to mothers therefore, is to ensure they complete the full course of immunization for their children, to prevent childhood killers like measles, diarrhea, pneumonia, tuberculosis, tetanus and hepatitis, to mention a few. In addition, parents must avoid the use of contaminated water, malnutrition and poor sanitation, as they also contribute to childhood mortality."

Wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Bolanle Ambode with the baby of the year (m); HC Health, Dr. Jide Idris (2nd right); SA. Primary Healthcare, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga (r); MD Lagos lsland Maternity, Dr. Olumuyiwa Eniayewun (2nd left); and mother of the baby of the year, Mrs. Basirat Adegbesan (L), during a visit to the baby, at Lagos lsland Maternity, on Tuesday, 1st January, 2019.

The governor’s wife commended the National Population Commission (NPC) for registering newborns at Lagos hospitals, urging parents to always cooperate with the agency, for accurate data compilation.

She urged expectant mothers to maintain good hygiene and health-promoting lifestyle in pregnancy, to ensure the well-being of their expected babies.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, said the Ministry placed more emphasis on efficient and qualitative healthcare services.

He said with the planned implementation of the Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme this year, more Lagosians would have access to improved services and enjoy the kind of care they would have been unable to before now.

Idris assured that the state government would continue to stimulate the required quality of health service delivery that is poised to address existing health gaps and even new challenges that might emerge in the future.

Wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Bolanle Ambode (3rd left); HC Health, Dr. Jide Idris (2nd right); SA. Primary Healthcare, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga (r); MD Lagos lsland Maternity, Dr. Olumuyiwa Eniayewun (3rd right); and parent of the first baby of the year, Mr. & Mrs Wasiu & Basirat Adegbesan (L), during the presentation of gifts to the baby born 12:00am., weighing 3.7kg, at the Lagos lsland Maternity Hospital, on Tuesday, 1st January, 2019.

Emphasising that the health insurance scheme was compulsory, the commissioner disclosed that 5,000 private healthcare providers had been registered for the scheme to complement government's efforts.

He added that once the scheme was implemented, Lagosians could choose which providers they wanted use, noting that the cost of providing healthcare had been significantly made affordable under the scheme.

Idris also disclosed that government would bore the cost of the less privileged ones in the society, disclosing that to this effect, government had enrolled 25,000 less privileged people at Makoko area of Lagos to benefit from the scheme.

Wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Bolanle Ambode with the baby of the year (3rd right); HC Health, Dr. Jide Idris (2nd left); SA. Primary Healthcare, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga (L); MD. Shomolu General Hospital & wife of APC governorship candidate, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu (3rd left); and parent of the first baby of the year, Mr. & Mrs. Segun & Adara Awofeso (r), during the presentation of gifts to the baby, born 1:47am., weighing 3kg, at the Shomolu General Hospital, on Tuesday, 1st January, 2019.

Also speaking at Randle General Hospital, Surulere where another babies were presented with gifts, Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Healthcare, Dr. Femi Onanuga, said as part of the drive to improve access to healthcare services, the State began the renovation of Primary Health Centres, PHCs across the state to meet with the growing demand for healthcare in various Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas, as over 40 PHCs were renovated in 2017 alone.

"This is geared at promoting health and reducing the burden of diseases that hamper economic and social relevance.

"We are committed in our quest to reducing maternal mortality rates and neonatal/infant mortality by ensuring the availability of maternal and child services, skilled workforce and promoting partnerships with the Private Sector, locally and internationally," he said.

Wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Bolanle Ambode (4thleft); HC Health, Dr. Jide Idris (4th right); SA. Primary Healthcare, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga (3rd left); Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola (L); Fed. Commissioner, National Population Commission, Barr. Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin (r); MD. Randle General Hospital, Dr. Aduke Odutayo (2nd right); MD. Shomolu General Hospital & wife of APC governorship candidate, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu (3rd right); and wife of APC deputy governor candidate, Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat (2nd left), during a visit to the first baby of year, at Randle General Hospital, on Tuesday, 1st January, 2019.

Onanuga also enjoined all Lagosians to take advantage of the health insurance scheme and the benefit it would provide the enrollees, including financial protection in the event of medical incident.

However, at Somolu General Hospital, a baby born to Mr and Mrs Awofeso at exactly 1:47am, weighing 3kg was presented with gifts by Mrs Ambode.

Also at Randle General Hospital, Mrs Ambode gave gifts to two babies born in the early hours of January 1, 2019.

The first baby, a girl, was born at 1:59am to Mrs and Mrs Ojo. The baby weighed 2kg.

Also born at the hospital was a girl to the family of Mr and Mrs Adams at exactly 4:00am, weighing 2.7kg.

Folashade Kadiri (Mrs.) is an Asst. Director, Public Affairs, Office of the Wife of the Governor of Lagos State.