FG, Coca Cola Launch N3.8Billion Safe Birth Initiative

In an audacious move to fight against maternal and newborn deaths in the country, the Federal Ministry of Health, in partnership with Coca-Cola Bottling Company has launched a N3.8 billion Safe Birth Initiative (SBI).

The move is to ensure that both mothers and babies can come home alive from maternity wards.

Speaking during the launch in Abuja recently, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole said government was working towards reducing the current maternal mortality rates from 576 per 100,000 live births and newborn mortality rate from 37 per 1,000 live births to the targeted maternal mortality ratio of 140 per 100,000 live births as well as 12 per 1,000 neonatal and still births by 2030 respectively.

Adewole noted that the initiative was also done in partnership with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a non-governmental organisation, Medshare International Inc. He further said that the donation by Coca-Cola was part of the Federal Government’s effort to ensure improvement on health facilities adding that the relationship was critical towards enhancing corporate social responsibility.

The minister emphasised the importance of ensuring the availability and affordability of essential commodities as well as improving health facilities with qualified manpower and equipment.

He informed that the items donated included beds, ventilators, monitors, Paediatric incubators, resucitares, CPAP machines, infusion pumps and ultra sound machine.

Others were wheel chairs, monitors, crash carts with defibrillator, theatre light and operating table, among others.

In her remarks, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, said that the Coca-Cola SBI was a programme designed to support selected hospitals across the country with stateof-the-art medical equipment and technical capacity building.

She further said that SBI was directly supporting the achievement of SDG-3 on ‘ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages’ and SDG-5 on ‘achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls’.

In his remarks, President, Coca – Cola, West Africa, Mr. Peter Njonjo, said the organisation chose to join the fight against Maternal and Newborn deaths so that mothers and babies could go home alive from maternities.

He also said that SBI resonated strongly with CocaCola because it affected the wellbeing of women

He said: “Globally, Coca-Cola has a commitment to women whom we consider as pillars of the society and also pillars of our business, especially in Nigeria and Africa, where women play a dominant role in our vast distribution and retail network.

“We have chosen to join in the fight against maternal and newborn deaths, so that our mothers and babies can come home alive from the maternities. Like everything we do at Coca-Cola, we have been deliberate, strategic and collaborative in developing our approach.”

During his testimonial, the Chief Medical Director, National Hospital, Abuja, Dr Jafaru Momoh, commended the efforts of the Federal Ministry of Health through the minister and Coca-Cola for the donations.

He emphasised that the donation would help in reducing Maternal, Perinatal morbidity and mortality as well as ensuring the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Momoh also identified the departments that had benefited from the donations to include Paediatrics, Anaesthesia, Emergency and Radiography.