The House of Representatives on Wednesday urged the Federal Ministry of Health to issue a directive for provision of free medical treatment for pregnant women during and after delivery in public healthcare institutions across the country.
The house mandated its committee on healthcare services and healthcare institutions to invite the Minister
of Health “to propose a solution to this innovative trend and report back within four weeks for further legislative actions.”
The house also called for the implementation of routine checks to ensure continuity, compliance by medical personnel and sustainability of childbirth processes.
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The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion by Rep Mohammed Dan Abba Shehu on the need to allow pregnant women to access free medical treatment from public health institutions during and after delivery.
Shehu, while moving the motion, noted that the government established public healthcare institutions to provide medical services to humanity.
He noted that the government allocated an annual budget to public healthcare institutions to fund healthcare service delivery to citizens, particularly pregnant women whose families could not afford medical treatment during pregnancy and childbirth.
Shehu said Nigeria had been grappling with high disease rates, resulting in an annual maternal mortality rate of expectant mothers and children due to pregnancy complications and the polio virus.
He further said a 2019 UNICEF report showed that 7.2 million childbirths were recorded annually, with 262,000 babies dying at birth and 357 dying within the first month, while the birth rate in 2019 was 37.684 per 1,000 people, which represented a decline of 1.09 per cent from 2018.
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