BAYELSA GOVT TO INTENSIFY FIGHT AGAINST MATERNAL AND NEONATAL TETANUS

TRACKING______The Bayelsa State Government has reiterated its resolve to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus from the state.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Pabara Newton Igwele made this known on Monday during a meeting with officials of the National Public Health Development Agency (NPHDA) and supporting partners at his office in Yenagoa.

Dr. Igwele noted that the pre-validation exercise the agency is set to conduct will place the state in the right position to effectively check and phase out the occurrence of tetanus.

He assured them of the total support of Governor Douye Diri as he is committed to safeguarding the lives of all new borns and indeed all Bayelsans.

On his part, the Team Lead NPHDA, Dr.Namadi Lawal, revealed that the South-South including Bayelsa is due for validation and the pre-validation exercise will help the agency determine if Bayelsa is duly prepared.

He said the data gathered during the exercise will help them choose a local government area for the main validation exercise to be done to prove that neonatal tetanus has been eliminated from the state.

Also speaking, the Bayelsa State Coordinator of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Edmund Egbe revealed that in partnership with the NPCHDA they had previously conducted three rounds of maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination campaigns in the state.

He said the focus of this pre-validation exercise will be Yenagoa and Kolokuma/Opokuma LGAs which will be on for five days and will end with a debriefing on Friday.