Bayelsa Government said on Tuesday that it would establish a School of Midwifery in the state to fast-track its efforts to reduce maternal mortality in the state.

Bayelsa Commissioner for Health, Dr Ayibatonye Owei, said this in Yenagoa during the training of 300 midwives to promote the maternal health component of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Owei said the training was organised by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd in partnership with six Niger Delta states namely Rivers, Bayelsa, Abia, Delta, Akwa Ibom and Imo.

”Presently, we are taking an audit of health institution in Bayelsa state in order to be able to strengthen the primary, secondary and the tertiary levels.

”Every day, 145 women die of child birth; One in 13 pregnant women die in Nigeria; our maternal-mortality rate is above 500 for every 100,000 deaths.

”Women are the care givers, the bearer. In fact, they are the bedrock of every family.

He said the training was meant to sensitise midwives in the six states on the need to adequately take care of the health of women, particularly during pregnancy.

Owei said that no fewer than 2,300 under-5 year-olds also die every day in the country.

He said that the figure had made Nigeria the second largest contributor to the Under-5 Mortality Rate (U5MR) in the world.

Owei said that Bayelsa government would not relent in its effort to ensure quality healthcare delivery for the people of the state, especially pregnant women.

Source: Daily Times