Wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, has identified maternal and child mortality as a serious health challenge, which requires support from all quarters to be tamed.
She made this disclosure while speaking during the foundation laying ceremony of a maternity clinic at the Daura General Hospital, Katsina State, on Thursday.
In a statement by her spokesman, Mr. Suleiman Haruna, Mrs Buhari lamented the challenges that women faced trying to access medical care during pregnancy, at childbirth and while raising their babies.
In her own way of proving not to only talk or show concern but also actively be part of the solution, she, characteristic of her, came with her intervention seen in the clinic she laid foundation for within the hospital premises in Daura.
The wife of the President said, “Women go through serious challenges when they are at their most vulnerable state, so they need a lot of support. This support is one of the mandates of Future Assured, my programme.” She said.
This project, she said, will also support Federal Government’s policy of establishing healthcare facility in every political unit in the country.
“The Maternity Ward is another way of reducing the challenges faced by women and making their lives better.”
She drew attention to the need for stakeholders to pay more attention to the needs of women in all communities.
Also speaking, Wife of the Vice President, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, commended the courage, hard work and dedication of Mrs Buhari to Nigeria and Nigerians, and said these were what drive her to do the good job she was doing in the lives of women and children.
Wife of the Governor of Katsina State, Hajiya Zakiyya Aminu Masari, also commended the effort of Mrs Buhari and thanked her for choosing Katsina state to commission this project.
Mrs Buhari paid a courtesy call on the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumin Kabir Usman, who in his welcome address commended her for the new project and used the opportunity to call on leaders to protect women against maltreatment which as he said, is becoming more rampant.
The Maternity ward will have a 50-bed capacity and is being constructed by a donor through Aisha Buhari Foundation, who will hand it over to the hospital on completion.
