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Adetutu Sobowale
Barely nine months after PLATFORM TIMES reported exclusively, the high level of maternal and infant mortality in Ode-Omi area of Ogun waterside in Ogun state, the state government has done the needful .
Residents of the area can now heave a sigh of relief after the state government has launched tricycle ambulances in the State to address the menace of maternal and infant mortality in rural areas.
Anecdotal review and analysis of 2007 to 2009 figures for Ogun State had shown a State level of Maternal Mortality Ratio of 179 per 100,000 live births and Infant Mortality Ratio, Perinatal Mortality Ratio and Under-5 Mortality Ratio of 69/1000, 21/1000 and 27/1000 live births respectively.
PLATFORM TIMES had in July, 2022 reported the plight of pregnant women in Ode-Omi and many other rural communities in Ogun State.
It was reported that pregnant women were dying while traveling to the city during labour due to a lack of medical practitioners, including midwives, and good health care facilities in rural communities.
Following the report, the state government has introduced tricycle ambulances in the State to address the menace of maternal and infant mortality in rural areas.
The State Government recently in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Kunle Somorin, said that the rationale behind the introduction of tricycle ambulances in the State was to address the menace of maternal and infant mortality in rural areas.
The government identified lack of transportation as one of the major causes of loss of lives of pregnant women.
Somorin said the challenges necessitated the idea of complementing the already acquired advanced life support ambulances.
“The tricycle ambulances were formally launched in February 2022 following the procurement of 50 tricycles by the state government and donation of an additional 30 by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs) while 10 were donated by individuals, totaling 90.” the statement read in part
Somorin further noted that by the provision of this community ambulance services, residents have been able to promptly reach out for emergency response, adding that with that arrangement, the response time has so far been reduced from two hours to between 10 minutes and 30 minutes.
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