By Usman Walin Gungura, Bauchi
In its continued determination of training and retraining of its members, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bauchi State Council, has, in collaboration with the Bauchi Field Office of the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), trained no fewer than 50 journalists across media organizations in the state, including Correspondents Chapel in a one-day training program on Maternal and Newborn reporting, aimed at addressing maternal mortality in the state.
The one-day partnership training took place on Monday at the Late Mohammed Abdullahi Conference Hall of NUJ Bauchi Council Secretariat, to improve reporting on health issues affecting women and children.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the State Chairman of NUJ, Comrade Umar Sa’idu, expressed gratitude to UNICEF for supporting and bankrolling the initiative to reality.
He emphasized the importance of capacity building for journalists, noting that professionals in all fields, including journalism, require continuous training to stay updated to enlightened so as to diseminate effective and timely information to targeted people to be guided.
“We appreciate UNICEF’s prompt response to our request for this training, especially on maternal mortality,” Umar said.
“This training will enhance our members’ skills in reporting on health issues, particularly those affecting women and children,” he added.
The chairman informed that the training is expected to end with the establishment of a seven-month technical committee to guide journalists in focusing on special areas and producing indepth reports on maternal and newborn health.
He said that the committee will ensure that journalists apply the knowledge gained from the one-day training to produce high-quality reports that can contribute to reducing maternal mortality in Bauchi State.
In his presentation, UNICEF health specialist informed that the training was organized by NUJ and supported by the United Nations Children’s Funds basically aimed at strengthing awareness and improving health conditions of women and children.
The health specialist expressed concern over high rate of teenage pregnancy in the state and therefore called for quick intervention to stop the influence of the under-aged pregnancy to save lives.
Also speaking, Amina Balali, Deputy Program Manager, Reproductive, Maternal and Newborn Child at the State Primary Health Care Development Board, said the Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII) is making strides in addressing maternal mortality in Bauchi State.
She highlighted the initiative’s objectives, successes and challenges since its implementation in 11 local government areas of Bauchi, noting that the federal government-driven intervention has achieved significant milestones, including the establishment of a MAMII taskforce, which has improved emergency transportation systems for pregnant women in rural communities.
According to her, the initiative has also empowered community members, including commercial motorcyclists, who transport pregnant women to health facilities for delivery and receive a payment of ₦10,000 per woman.
Additionally, Balali said, healthcare providers have been trained and essential commodities such as oxytocin and magnesium sulphate, among others, have been supplied to health facilities.
She disclosed that the initiative has also provided free mama kits to pregnant women, containing essential items for delivery.
