Expectant mothers living with HIV in Akwa Ibom State can patronise Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) and Faith-based Birth Attendants (FBAs) (those who take deliveries in churches and mission homes) without the fear of transmitting the virus to their babies.
This is because the Ministry of Health has trained them in the art of safe delivery of patients with special needs.
According to the Commissioner for Health, Dr Dominic Ukpong, the roles of traditional and faith-based birth attendants in the provision of maternal health services needed to be expanded in the state because their engagement is aimed at improving maternal and neonatal child health services as well as increasing the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT).
The participants were drawn across the three pilot Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Eket, Etinan and Ikot Ekpene. Their training was in collaboration with the Management Science for Health (MSH) USAID, with assistance from the Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board (LSTMB).
Ukpong said: “The roles of traditional and faith-based birth attendants in the provision of maternal health services in our local communities cannot be denied, due to them being easily accessible and having the high level of trust that expectant women place in them. Also, the persistent space between the number of women that attend antenatal care (ANC) and the number of women that eventually deliver at the facilities with a skilled birth attendant particularly, the HIV positive expectant women reinforce the evidence of patronage of Traditional and Faith based attendants. As such, this engagement programme is imperative to ensure that the required services by pregnant women, especially HIV positive ones are received in a safe and hygienic environment with required referral services.”
No comments:
Post a Comment