Dino Melaye, a disgrace to the Senate - Tinubu

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28—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2016 Traditional birth attendant with a patient Health sector’s unending crisis, maternal health and traditional birth attendants Continues from Page 27 facility. We observed that most of the women were in search of fertility treatments while some were pregnant and attending ante-natal. Some who had just put to bed were in the wards receiving postnatal care. Most of the women seemed to hold in their hands a bottle of herbal concoctions which we gathered were refilled at the cost of N500 weekly, after leaving the facility. Although the practice runs in Mama Ada’s family tree, she has however upgraded hers by even employing several orthodox nurses to assist in the facility. In all fairness, as gathered from the women interviewed at the facility, maternal death is hardly heard of at the facility and except for two women who claimed to have followed-up their appointments religiously without being able to conceive for almost a year, majority testified in the affirmative of Mama Ada’s ability to satisfy their various maternal health needs. Traditional birth facility In a rather more discreet area at Lawanson in Lagos also is a traditional birth facility run by an elderly woman in maybe her 60s. This facility, we gathered, has operated for over 30 years as it also doubles as a residential apartment. We however could not ascertain if it is registered under the state Traditional Medicine Board. The crowd here was quite minimal; only about three clients when we arrived there last Sunday evening. However, Woman’s Own was somewhat fortunate to run into a mother in her early thirties who claimed to have had all her three children at the facility. Virginia, as she later simply identified herself, is expecting her fourth child and had come for her regular ante-natal check-up. The interesting National Diploma holder in Science Laboratory Technology from one of the notable polytechnics in the South-South; told Woman’s Own she was very comfortable with the delivery services there and never wishes to deliver in a hospital. “I hear people go through hell in hospitals but for me, this is my fourth child and the entire procedure has been quite easy right from my first experience. All my births have also been normal. “Usually, she would ask me to buy a snail which I would throw to the floor between my legs while standing. If the snail breaks immediately at the first exercise, my delivery is interpreted to be very very easy. But if it doesn’t, it is interpreted to be a bit difficult. But thank God the snails I’ve thrown have always broken immediately,” she said. Another traditional birth home visited at Ikotun area of Lagos had about seven women on the queue when we arrived. The women, we noticed, were all pregnant and largely in their third trimester. Two of them who accepted to speak with Woman’s Own however admitted they were also registered with the General Hospital in the area in case of any emergency, as advised by the Cross River-born middle-aged Continues from page 27 colleague at work, a newly single female, or even a friend of yours. In fact, he’s almost over-helpful! It feels like a crush, to you. He stops noticing you. You could probably wear a bag over your head and he wouldn’t notice. Even when he ‘makes an effort’ to be with you, he doesn’t really notice you. They said so So, your marriage counsellor has told you not to listen to third woman who runs the facility. Here, the concoctions served the women looked very slimy and according to one of the women, this substance would be drank TBAs were also interestingly saddled with the responsibility of conducting routine immunisation on newborns as a viable means of eradicating diseases such as polio once daily from the beginning of the third trimester, and when it’s time to deliver, the baby will almost ‘swim’ out of the birth canal. A common medication given to patients at the centres visited included leaves, roots, snail, hot drinks. In extreme cases, rituals are said to be carried out. As against modern medicine parties Yet hints and warnings from colleagues, friends and families probably have your best interests at heart, and they know something you don’t. Your instincts say so Your intuition is screaming at you that he’s having an affair. You may not be able to substantiate what your intuition is saying, but that doesn’t stop it being true. Your intuition doesn’t have an agenda. It doesn’t want you to hold onto this man at all costs. It which leans on clinical diagnosis for assessment, most of the TBAs visited, we gathered, assessed women using mere observation, divination, womb palpitation, as well as patients’ history and complaints. Training of TBAs: Since the adoption of the Primary Health Care, PHC, approach in Nigeria in 1979, government has recognized the need for integrating traditional birth attendants into the PHC system and had consequently initiated TBAs training programmes. In spite of the high patronage of traditional birth attendants, many of their practices during childbirth, such as pressing of the abdomen of pregnant women, as well as infection control methods, have been found to adversely affect the health of mothers. Some states’ efforts: Notwithstanding, some state governments very well recognise the relevance of TBAs, especially in very remote areas, and are working hard to integrate them into the primary healthcare system. Modern techniques Is ‘He’ cheating? A reliable source at the Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board disclosed to Woman’s Own that there are presently over 4,000 registered traditional medicine attendants, including birth attendants, in Lagos State. The state’s Ministry of Health, through the board, Woman’s Own also gathered, regularly trains TBAs in modern techniques in an effort to curb maternal deaths. Over 190 persons benefitted from one of such training done in 2011. Another 195 were trained in 2012 and since then, the trend has continued. TBAs in the state have been classified as Community Based Health Workers, CBHW, by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, in line with the World Health Assembly, WHA, strategy on development of traditional medicine to improve healthcare coverage. Further investigation revealed that registered TBAs, after undergoing the board’s training, are sent to general hospital for 6- weeks orientation, where they just tells you the truth that it picks up from a thousand subtle clues. He accuses you His accusations that you’re jealous and/or crazy. Attack is a cheater’s best form of defence. These are classic ploys for making you doubt yourself. Unless you are a habitually jealous person, you need to trust your gut. Suddenly nice Is he they suddenly being overly nice? For some, having an affair can make them act happier observe procedures and thereafter take deliveries. An estimated 400 persons recently benefitted from one of such 6- week training and got licensed by the state government last month, May 2016. In Kano State also, August 2015 witnessed the training of 1,936 TBAs. According to the state governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, while flagging-off the five-day intensive training on effective maternal care services, the TBAs were also provided with tricycle ambulances to transport patients when complication looms. Routine immunisation According to Umar, the TBAs were also interestingly saddled with the responsibility of conducting routine immunisation on newborns as a viable means of eradicating diseases such as polio. In Adamawa State, particularly in the Internally Displaced Persons camps, TBAs are filling the blank spaces following training in midwifery from nongovernmental organisations. In Edo and Enugu also, nongovernmental organisations are working hard to train TBAs in modern delivery techniques. Ondo state however has a rather different approach which is geared more towards eliminating traditional birth practice, unlike states seeking enhancement of the practice through training of practitioners. As revealed by Abiola Oshunniyi, Co-Partner, Becoming Change Institute, an organization working in collaboration with the Ondo State government to reduce maternal deaths, what is being done is try to limit the scope of intervention of TBAs across the state. He told Woman’s Own: “The highest number of maternal deaths in Ondo State came as a result of the interventions of TBAs, particularly because they do not know their limits. Preeclampsia, postpartum haemorrhage and the rest, are the highest causes of maternal deaths in Nigeria, and there is no way a traditional birth attendant can handle a woman who has pre- Continues on page 29 in their life... or guilt can make them try to make it up to you subconsciously He’s pointing fingers Maybe the opposite is true and they are constantly picking fault with you or accusing you of cheating. Once someone has successfully cheated undetected they start to think if they could do it why cant you? Next week: Is She cheating?
Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2016 —29 Fever in children can be dangerous — Dr Efunbo Dosekun, CEO Outreach Group of Hospitals By Kehinde Ajose ACCORDING to WHO (World Health Organization) statistics, a child dies every minutes from malaria in Africa. In 2013, there were 528, 000 deaths from malaria and about 78% of these were in children under 5 years of age. Children under 5 years of age are the most vulnerable group affected by malaria. There was an estimated 438000 malaria deaths around the world in 2015, of which approximately 69% were in children under 5 years of age. Despite these scary indicators, little has been done to curtail the menace. In what seems like a call to action, Dr Efunbo Dosekun Chief Executive Officer of the Outreach Group of Hospitals has launched a campaign Fever in Children that will serve as a public enlightenment project According to Dosekun, Fever is the most common symptom in children who attend healthcare facilities, pharmacies or laboratory diagnostic units in Lagos. “Fever in Children Campaign is a very innovative idea that has been initiated by the Outreach Group of Hospitals. Our organization started six years ago with the From L-R Dr Segun Ebitanmi, Chief Operating Officer,Outreach Group of Hospitals,Dr Efunbo Dosekun Chief Executive Officer Outreach Group of Hospitals, Dr Motilewa Elizabeth, Community Health Officer found out that the majority of the children that come to our hospital, up to 90% of them have a fever .There is a way this fever can be prevented. The commonest causes of fever in children are infections. So we decided to have Health sector’s unending crisis, maternal health and traditional birth attendants Continues from Page 28 eclampsia for example, because her knowledge is limited to just delivering a child. There is supposed to be a limit to their intervention. “The Ondo State Government created a program called the Agbebiye to create demand in orthodox healthcare facilities by getting traditional birth attendants to refer pregnant women who come to them, to public health centres. “The government created a referral voucher as an incentive to keep the TBAs referring their clients. At specific intervals, the government redeems this voucher and pays them cash. The government further trained these TBAs in vocational skills. This drastically reduced the attendance of pregnant women to traditional birth attendants as some of these women had different infections caused by whatever treatments they were receiving from their TBAs. Traditional birth attendants With public enlightenment we haven’t done well in the area of fever in children main emphasis on taking up one area of the health system which is curative services. We have a public health perspective. If we see that there is a health problem in our community, we start asking questions. From our audit we of medical practice. As a senior medical personnel with one of the General Hospitals in Lagos State who spoke on anonymity puts it: “Traditional birth attendants do not have the slightest idea about what standard practice is all about. That’s why they don’t come out plain until their clients have become bombshells about to explode (give up). “They only usually refer them to us at General Hospitals when they can no longer handle them. Various factors have been identified as responsible for Nigeria’s poor maternal and child health statistics He further likened future consequence of current advocacy for the development of TB practice by different state governments to the regretted outcome of the creation of auxiliary nurses in the health sector many years ago, describing that move as one of the major blunders responsible for the dearth of medical practice in the country. He went on: “This, plus the advent and existence of fake drugs being sold across the country, have remained major problems. People now mistake the inefficiency of drugs for doctors’ incompetence. “Government has realised its mistake about auxiliary nurses and is now trying to eradicate them, but it has already allowed it to stay for too long and has thus a public health campaign on the issue. In that arena of prevention, health education comes in. With public enlightenment we haven’t done well in the area of fever in children. We have to take it to every nook and crannies in Nigeria , that fever can be dangerous .With that, we are sensitizing the parents to know that you just don’t assume your child has simple fever and engage in self -medication .” dented the image of orthodox medical practice in Nigeria. That’s even one of the reasons doctors are poorly paid; because people now believe they have alternatives. “Many people therefore no longer trust (doctors) because of that. Whereas, we still know what we are doing. But such vices militate against our credibility.” The good, the ugly: Indeed, although Nigeria has made great progress in maternal and child health, current statistics are still very unsettling. According to UNICEF, Nigeria loses about 2,300 children under five and 145 women of childbearing age daily; making the country second largest contributor to the maternal and under-five mortality rate globally. It also accounts for about 30% of the burden in mother-to-childtransmission of HIV in the world, which is also very high compared to most African countries. Various factors have been identified as responsible for Nigeria’s poor maternal and child health statistics; such as low access and utilization of quality healthcare services, low literacy level, poor healthcare practices, inadequate skilled human resource, funding, low awareness and distance from healthcare centers, etc. However, some researchers have identified traditional birth practice as another contributory factor which may have been downplayed in government’s quest to drastically reduce maternal and infant mortality rates. “Ondo State had the highest rate of maternal deaths in tthe South-West between 2010 and 2013 according to the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, NDHS. However, from the data gathered recently, we have been able to drop down maternal deaths to 50%-70%.” Orthodox medicine against TBAs: The training of TBAs to complement the efforts of orthodox healthcare workers is however unacceptable to medical practitioners who see TBAs as a total compromise on the standard “The most common we get here are pre-eclampsia cases (people with high blood-pressure). These people usually do not release them until when there’s complication and such people will now become a bomb to us— people whose medical records we do not even have. Worst of all, they toss them to us at nights when consultants are not even at work. It’s a terrible practice,” he said. Wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Bolanle Ambode (middle); Winner of the 2016 Spelling Bee Competition and One-Day Governor of Lagos State, Master Olaseinde Olufemi (3 rd right); and Cabinet members, during the 2016 One-Day Governor and his Cabinet members when they paid a courtesy visit to the wife of the Governor, at Lagos House, Ikeja, today.
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Dino Melaye, a disgrace to the Senate - Tinubu

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