Advocacy on Maternal Health & Child Survival

In the past few years, Her Excellency, Mrs. Toyin Saraki has been worried about the frightening incidence of Maternal and Infant mortality in Nigeria. She has therefore championed several advocacy moves on this front. She has hosted several meeting of stakeholders in family health while she has also attended several conferences aimed at improving maternal and child health within and outside Nigeria.

At one of these conferences titled; Women Deliver in October 2007, she spoke at forum organized by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on the various medical and socio-cultural reasons why the sad occurrence of maternal and infant mortality persists in. She also nudged donor agencies on the need to be properly focused in their areas of intervention and give priority to the needs of communities where such programmes are to be initiated. Our Founder believes that the education of children, be they boys or girls is the key to the emancipation of our people from lack, want and disease. Through her lectures and newspapers articles she has continued to advocate that the education, empowerment of women and the integration of issues affecting the health of women and children as fundamental to reducing maternal and infant mortality.

Towards the attainment of Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, Her Excellency is currently partnering with the Federal Ministry of Health and other development partners in several areas including the institution of adequate data collation mechanism in the health system. She has vowed that the attainment of these MDG goals and the reduction of mortalities and morbidities will continue to be her commitment until the goals are reached.

The While Ribbon Alliance, The Global Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and the Pediatrics Association of Nigeria, are some of the regular partners of WBF work on maternal and child health.