EXPERT SAYS THE STATE SURVIVES WITH ONLY ONE OXYGEN PLANT SINCE INCEPTION
By Vincess Okushi
For 55 years, since the creation of Rivers State, it has been from one death to another ranging from adult to children, popularly called birth asphyxia.
This is due to a lack of oxygen plants as the state currently survives with only one oxygen to cater to the whole citizens irrespective of how critical the condition of patients might have been; thereby, resulting in the high rate of deaths in the environment.
Although these critical conditions brought to the fore the intervention of private hospitals in 2020 considering the emergence of the pandemic, despite efforts, the number of cylinders procured is still very low to cater to a state considered to be the 7th most populous in Nigeria.
Out-of-pocket spending had also deterred others from seeking medical attention in these private facilities, heightening the death ratio in Rivers.
The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic could have placed the federal and state governments on their toes in terms of infrastructural development if they want to achieve the 2030 target of universal health coverage, but there is little or no commitment shown in the edifice let alone manpower that could promote the health workforce in the state.
Even though developed partners like the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have recently provided 200 oxygen cylinders to support and curb the root causes of birth asphyxia in the state, but yet to be launched for its full operation, reasons best known to the government.
In an interview with the Rivers State Ministry of Health’s Reproductive Health Coordinator, Dr. Iroro Smith commended UNICEF for providing the cylinders in the senatorial districts noting that it will serve about five densely populated communities in the state.
This will be one of the first in the state to be owned by the state government, and though there are plans for others to come into the state also, we’re happy that it is situated here.
Now this senatorial district is, if you had noticed as we’re coming in, this is coming towards the periphery of Rivers states, where we’ve hinterlands, we’ve five local government, we’ve Ogoloma, we’ve so many places, Okirika is that way, this is Eleme Local government, so this is situated to serve a lot of, in fact, this place you’re seeing now inhabit a vast population of people.
We’ve communities where we call Fulani and Hausa communities which are very populated in the hinterlands and when they come out for maternal antenatal care you see them coming out en-mass, but we’re happy as HEALTHCARE workers that this is here.
We have some statistics, but I might not want to go into them, such as neonatal, stillbirths, and all those things. But we know that birth asphyxia, which is a child being unable to breathe immediately during birth is one of the main reasons for child deaths in the other 28 days to zero days.
We’ve seen that easy access to oxygen is a very important part, where there is something, we call every newborn child, ensuring that every child breathes within the first minute of life is a very important preventive measure for preventing birth asphyxia, so that one minute if there’s access or ability for these children to breathe within that one minute, it saves sequence of illnesses of which birth asphyxia is one.
Also, Dr. Smith appealed for more human and material resources to achieve the needed result of saving the lives of children in the state, noting that despite the traditional birth attendance that the people sought, much work is required as the state cannot give the accurate number of neonatal and stillbirths in Rivers state.
The truth is that babies are dying every day. That is the basic truth of it. You go to primary health care facilities. You see women coming in with stillbirths, who have been around here.
Most traditional birth attendants still being patronized
by women, so children are still dying. Not all those things are being recorded. So we still have a lot of work on our own to do for them. To trust enough in the health system to come to the health facilities and having things like this should attract them to come.
She added
We have a big challenge with personnel, look at this hospital, it’s so big but you could count the number of doctors that are here at this time.
The ratio of doctors to nurses is almost not different so taking the population of this place it’s close to 300,000 people with how many doctors that you can count on one hand.
How many Doctors? I think about four or five. And the Nurses? About 30, are not all, you know nurses run on shift, so at every point in time, they will be like 10 or less.
So you can imagine those number OF PEOPLE catering for all these people, so by the time one person comes one day, come two days and he doesn’t see anybody there, but this place I must say the doctor is always here
Dr. Iroro however expressed optimism that the present administration with its health agenda is keen to provide employment suitable for guaranteeing health for all, particularly at the grassroots of the country.
We’re waiting for it, eagerly ensuring a waiting for employment so that doctors and nurses can be employed, so that those people who come here will trust enough in the system to come
The Expert also applauded UNICEF for providing concentrators to secondary and primary facilities across the state as well as the training of about 100 doctors and nurses on essential and comprehensive newborn care such as how to handle newborns especially the sick newborn and the comprehensive inventory and equipment usage.
And remained, optimistic that once the 200 oxygen cylinders are launched, the state government will commence its insurance scheme which will include all modern facilities to boost health coverage.
