By Susan Edeh
Dutse—The British government has announced its plan to redouble its routine immunisation and maternal and child programme in northern Nigeria with the hope of improving health of two million women in the region in the next three years.

The UK parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development, Mr. Stephen O’Brian dropped this hint in Dutse, Jigawa State while briefing newsmen at the state Government House shortly after a private courtesy visit to Governor Sule Lamido. He said the British government is very delighted with the performance recorded in the health sectors of the benefiting states.

Mr. O’Brian explained that the British government’s decision to redouble its support in the health sector is based on the success of the existing immunisation programmes, declaring that there had  been a 98 per cent reduction of polio in the past year.

He said: “There has been a 98 per cent case reduction in polio in the past year, falling from 389 of polio cases to only 9 cases in Nigeria this year.”

The UK Development Minister further explained that UK will provide support to enable 400,000 women have  access to a skilled birth attendants as well as ensure that one million children are fully immunised.

According to him, DFID with additional funding from the Norwegian government is working with the state agencies to improve the maternal and child health service and making the services more accountable by involving communities.

In announcing the new plans for Jigawa state, the minister O’Brien said ‘ I am proud to announce this expansion of the UK’s support ton maternal and child health to Northern Nigeria. I feel passionately about these issues as I see with my own eyes the scale of the challenge as well as the success of our support in saving lives’.

Describing their decision as timely and critical and timely, expressed concern that women and children are still dying in Nigeria over preventable disease, adding that their major challenges is shortage of health workers and drugs, which he needs to be addressed.