International Development Partners Join Forces With Aisha Buhari On Maternal, Child Health

Aisha Buhari-ChildrenThe bid by the wife of the President, Hajia Aisha Muhammadu Buhari to save mothers and their children from health and nutritional hazards in the country, has attracted international attention.

The United Nations (UN) under Secretary General and Executive Director of UNFPA, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin and a team of Development Partners, are exploring opportunities through Mrs Buhari’s office to develop a support programme to complement the present administration’s efforts at improving health, nutrition and population outcomes in Nigeria.

The Senior Special Assistant to Mrs. Buhari, Dr. Hajo Sani, who disclosed this in a statement Wednesday, said that the wife of the president is concerned about the plight of mothers and children in Nigeria.

The statement quoted Osotimehin as saying that while the programme will focus on the poor and vulnerable in Nigeria, it was good practice globally with Kenya and Namibia as countries that have used similar programs to support health improvement efforts in their countries.

It also disclosed that Mrs Buhari is “determined to use her privileged position to become an advocacy champion for raising attention and resources necessary to make a difference in Maternal New born and Child Health outcomes in Nigeria”.

Towards this end, the statement revealed that Mrs. Buhari has met with two country representatives of UNFPA, Mrs. Ratidzai Ndhlovu and UN Women, Dr. Grace Ongile.

It said at the meeting, they “discussed extensively about the collaborative efforts on rapid identification of the issues that have militated against good health outcomes especially in Reproductive, Maternal New-born Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) in Nigeria”.