By Maduka Nweke
Efforts to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates in Lagos State have received a boost through a partnership between Alaro City and the Lagos State Office of Civic Engagement, whose Mother, Infant and Child (MICH) Program provides disadvantaged pregnant women in the state with nutritious food items to improve the health of the mother and aid the brain development of the child.
The MICH Program, which was flagged off in July 2020 by First Lady Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, provides pregnant women in all the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas of the state with basic food items during and after pregnancy and delivery. It targets less privileged and pregnant women living below the poverty levels within the state.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, while launching the latest phase of the initiative targeting 5000 women, said: “The MICH programme is a component of the ‘Womb to School’ initiative, which is a basket of social services aimed at supporting the development of socially responsible citizens from the womb through infancy, childhood, and into adulthood.
Through this initiative, we will reach out to indigent pregnant women in the state, to ensure they are well catered for during the period of their pregnancy in order to ensure safe delivery and healthy mother and child. Our target is to reach 5,000 underprivileged pregnant women who would be selected by doctors and specialists in each primary health care centres across the state to access the MICH food packs, which contain recommended daily nutritional composition of Protein; Carbohydrate; Lactose; Milk Fat; Fiber; Vitamins A, C, D3, E, B1, B2, B6, B12, Calcium and Folic Acid.”
Special Adviser to the Governor on Civic Engagement, Princess Aderemi Adebowale, said the MICH Program targets 15,000 beneficiaries within its first three years and would benefit from support from public and private organisations. “We are pleased with our partnership with Alaro City, which supports us in our work to ensure social cohesion through a systematic build-citizens-from-the-womb strategy, with particular focus on the development of the unborn child into civically responsible and collaborative citizens,” she said.