Evidence Action Supports Oyo State’s Fight Against Maternal Mortality With Hemocue Device Donation
•By Admin
IBADAN – The Oyo State government has received Hemocue devices known as Haemoglobinometers as support from the Evidence Action to improve anaemia testing among the pregnant women.
The donation and launch of the haemoglobinometers and microcuvettes by Evidence Action will help in reducing the maternal mortality in the state.
The development according to Pharmacist Dr Tope Ogunbi, the country director of Evidence Action who noted baseline assessment in January showed that the level of anaemia testing in Oyo State is suboptimal. This led to Evidence Action donating the haemoglobinometers and products.
Ogunbi, who was represented by the Senior Programme Manager for Evidence Action in the South West zone, Maryann Edeh, maintain that the donation will ensure that all pregnant women within Oyo East, Oyo West, Afijio and Ibarapa Southwest local governments can receive a diagnosis for anaemia and be managed at the same time.
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According to him, Evidence Action is piloting MMS in FCT and Oyo State in partnership with the Oyo State government to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and cost-effectiveness of introducing and scaling up MMS in Nigeria.
“We’re looking to scale up access to MMS such that every pregnant woman is able to access MMS for the full 180-day course of pregnancy. We’re also seeking to improve or scale up adherence. Beyond just having access to MMS, we want each pregnant woman to continue to take the daily MMS as recommended.
“And then the last objective is to improve anaemia screening and management in these four LGAs where we’re working, and how we could achieve that is by ensuring that the anaemia management protocol is in place to support the screening and treatment.”
While receiving the devices, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, said 42 primary and six secondary health facilities have been selected to benefit from the donated haemoglobinometers and microcuvettes aimed at strengthening detection and management of anaemia in pregnancy.
The Commissioner further stressed that anaemia remains a major public health concern, particularly among pregnant women, where it significantly contributes to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality.
She declared, “This donation will enable us to establish baseline haemoglobin levels, which will be instrumental in measuring and comparing the impact of Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) against the currently adopted Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) supplementation. With evidence-based data, we can make informed decisions to improve maternal health outcomes in the state.
“There is no doubt that these devices will strengthen our ability to detect and manage anaemia, ensuring that every identified case receives appropriate treatment. This will contribute significantly to reducing maternal mortality in Oyo State.
In his remarks at the event, the Executive Secretary of the Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, Dr Muideen Olatunji, represented by Dr Dele Osoko, stated that donated haemoglobinometers and microcuvettes are battery-operated and so appropriate technology that will bring about quality of care, particularly in our rural setting.
“When equipment like this comes that can help us to make a quick diagnosis in our health facility, for us it’s a very highly welcome development. We hope that we will have enough to go around all the primary health care facilities, and we’ll have extra to sustain it in case any one of them develops any fault.” Olatunji said.