12042018 - HERDSMEN/FARMERS’ CLASHES: Blame Gaddafi, irresponsible politicians — BUHARI

Vanguard, THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018 — 47
Continued from page 46
health facilities to ensure safe
deliveries. But with the
introduction of exorbitant bills,
the expectant women may have
no choice than to go back to
seek their services
Recall that workers in the state
who are in charge of cleaning
public hospitals across the state
equally took their
dissatisfaction to the Governor’s
office to protest the nonpayment
of their three months’
salaries recently.
Also, workers who carry out
their duties under the auspices
of Ondo State Emergency
Management Services Agency,
ODEMSA, said the
government was owing them
nine months’ pay.
“We have not received salaries
since June 2017, and our efforts
at lobbying and negotiating
with government have proved
abortive. The Akeredolu-led
government does not seem to
have us in their plans at all.
“We have never had this kind
of problem before this
government came on board.
Our working vehicles and
equipment are all dead. We are
tired of hunger. We can no
longer pay our children’s school
fees.
Happenings in the health sector
got to a head last week when
the pregnant women took the
bull by the horn and marched
on the state specialist hospital
saying “ enough is enough” of
government’s harsh decision.
Reports had it that the number
of deliveries recorded in the
State Mother and Child
Hospital is about 40,000 in four
years of its establishment.
Eighty per cent of the deliveries
“are primiparous meaning
those having pregnancy for the
first time and the remaining 20
per cent are those who have had
one or two previous deliveries.
Findings by Vanguard showed
that the bed space which was
free before, now attracts N3,500,
blood sampling - N500,
screening of blood by donor -
N3,800, deliveries- N25,000,
complicated deliveries attract
between N35,000 and N50,000,
fresh registration - N4,000 as
against N1000, consultation
which used to be free now
attracts N1000 while every antenatal
hitherto free now attracts
N500.
Speaking with Vanguard, a staff
of the hospital confirmed the
collection of the new fees since
the advent of the present
administration which had
refused to give any subvention
to the hospitals in the last one
year.
“ Our leaders were told to go
and source for money to run the
hospitals hence the outrageous
bills charged in the hospitals.
If government is claiming
ignorance of the charges, where
do they want us to get money
to run the hoapitals from? Is it
with our blood? They are
playing politics. They are in the
know.
One of the protesting pregnant
women, Sharon Arise said that
they usually pay N1,000 as
registration for antenatal while
deliveries were free of charge.
Arise said registration fee
jumped from N1000 to N5,000
while they have to pay N500 for
every antenatal appointment,
Barricade of protruding stomachs
N25,000 for normal deliveries
and over N50,000 for deliveries
that developed complications.
According to her, the cost of
antenatal services was
increased last December while
other fees were introduced after
the Easter break. She said most
of them have resorted to
traditional midwives and
private hospitals.
“When we got to the hospital,we
were asked to pay N500 each
before they can attend to us and
initially when we registered, we
registered with N2,500 which is
to cover the whole antenatal
period.
“But now, they asked us to pay
every time we need to see the
doctor and that we should
prepare N25,000 ahead of our
delivery and those who
registered today had to pay
N4,000 as against N1,000 we
used to pay before for
antenatal
“We made a formal complaint
at the office of the CMD, he
failed to attend to us or address
us and we decided to protest
against the obnoxious policies
of the hospital board and the
state government.
“We were asked to be paying
N500 per consultancy session
but we suddenly discovered that
we are to pay N25,000 for
delivery. They collected N4,000
for registration, with no drugs
for us.“
Vanguard was informed that
receipts for the deliveries were
not given to the expectant
Easter: Foundation calls for sacrificial love towards
Time will tell.
vulnerable children, women
By Josephine Agbonkhese
& Elizabeth Adegbesan
ABUJA- A Civil Society
Organisation, CSO, Nation
First Foundation, NFF, has
urged Nigerians to show
sacrificial love to vulnerable
children and women as the
country joins the rest of the
world to celebrate Easter,
commemorating the death,
burial and resurrection of Jesus
Christ.
This was stated by the Country
Director, NFF, Oniawan
Elidad, at Internally Displaced
Persons’ camp in Dagba
Community, Federal Capital
Territory, FCT, where he
lamented the neglect
vulnerable children and
women suffer in the country,
with their rights daily infringed
upon and no justice for them.
Rather, they are continually
being oppressed, suffer and
die in silence.
Elidad said the season should
be a period of making a u-turn
from the old attitude and
negative treatment meted out
to this category of Nigerians
who have no voice and strength
whatsoever to defend and
speak for themselves, but to
express and demonstrate that
sacrificial love Jesus Christ
showed to the downtrodden
and eventually sacrificed his
life for the peace and freedom
women after giving birth by
government officials in the
hospital.
The Chief Medical Director,
CMD, of the Specialist
Hospital, Dr. Moses Adewole,
who denied the development
said there was no increase in
the cost of delivery in the
hospital.
He, however, said the newly
introduced N500 for every
antenatal appointment was
done by the management to
subsidise the running cost in the
hospital, while he appealed
to the pregnant women to
cooperate with the hospital.
of all mankind.
Some of the relief materials
donated to the IDPs include
cooked food, soft drinks,
drugs, clothings and others.
He said: “Nation First
Foundation is an international
non-profit-making
organisation, which is founded
on protecting and projecting
the interest of the common man
and downtrodden.
“This is because we want them
to regain their voices, restore
their rights and protect their
interests by adding value to
their lives through various
activities we have been carrying
out to positively touch their
lives, thereby giving them
hope and sense of belonging
in their own country and to
have a say in their own affairs.
“This Easter celebration is all
about Jesus Christ our Lord
and saviour of the entire world.
He came down from heaven
with a heart full of divine love
for humanity and made up his
mind to sacrifice for the
redemption of man from the
grip of satan. Before he
sacrificed his life, he was
always with the downtrodden
in the society and ensured they
were taken care of and he stood
with the poor and made himself
poor because of them.
“We are using this outreach
called Nation First Foundation
Easter Love Outreach to Dagba
According to him,”everything in
this country is on the high side
and most of the time, we depend
on power from powergenerating
set because the
power from the national grid
cannot power most of the
equipment in the hospital so we
depend on the generator most
of the time. “
The Commissioner of Health,
Dr Wahab Adegbenro in his
reaction attributed the cause of
the protest by the expectant
women to “communication gap.
“The people were not properly
briefed about what is going on,
but we have cancelled the N500
for the antenatal appointment
*Some of the items donated by Nation First
Foundation to IDPs at Dagba Community,
Abuja Municipal Area Council.
Community Internally
Displaced Persons’ camp to
express our love and concern
for our brothers and sisters and
their children with our token of
love. We want to impact their
lives in order to give them a
sense of belonging.
“Nigerians should express
sacrificial love to vulnerable
children and women in our
country. This is not expensive
to do because these categories
of Nigerians are not living well
at all while some Nigerians
waste their resources on things
that would not really impact
society.
People should emulate the life
and love of Christ and reach
and have reverted to the old
system.”
Adegbenro described the
increase in the delivery fee as
false saying there was no plan
to increase the delivery fee,
“there is nothing like N25,000
for delivery, it is false
information and the normal
delivery fee remains N5,000.
The commissioner added that
the decisions to lump all levies
under booking, was in the
interest of the pregnant women
as all expenses during
antenatal are subsumed under
it.
Adegbenro assured that when
the state government “starts
implementation of the
Mandatory Contributory
Health Scheme, vulnerable
groups which include
pregnant women are to enjoy
free health care.
He noted that “the Health
Insurance Scheme will
provide a pool of funds to run
the Health sector and the
vulnerable group which include
pregnant women will be
adequately taken care of.
The Permanent Secretary,
Hospital Management Board,
Dr. Adeniran Ikuomola
appreciated the fact that the
pregnant women had the right
to protest whatever they detest
in a democracy but appealed for
dialogue as the women in his
words, were in a sensitive state.
Who is now economical with the
truth, government or the
women with protruding
stomachs?
out to these
downtrodden
Nigerians.”
He explained
that the
foundation was
at the IDP camp
to carry out a lot
of interventions
in the area of
healthcare
services,
distribution of
relief materials,
water project
execution, and
others.
“We have lined
up activities
here in this IDP
camp. We have
come to
continue with
our de-worming
programme for the children
who are prone to contracting
diseases, and also to check the
health status of pregnant
women among them and other
sick people.
We are also distributing relief
materials like clothing,
footwear, insecticide treated
nets, blankets, food etc.
“We are here to continue the
water and sanitation project
which we started before now
so they can have access to
clean and safe drinking water,
then enlighten them on best
hygiene practices by our team
of medical personnel,” he
stated.