In a move to complement the routine maternal and child health services, the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF in collaboration with the Kaduna State Primary Healthcare Development Board have taken a health outreach to an underserved community in Zaria Local government area.
The outreach is part of activities for the integrated maternal, newborn and child health week aimed at improving maternal and child health.
Rafin Yashi, which is a community of over fourteen kilometres away from the nearest health facility in Dutsen Abba ward of Zaria Local government area with more than eight thousand inhabitants lacks access to adequate health care services.
Speaking on the importance of the exercise, UNICEF Health specialist, Mrs. Chinwe Eziefe said that the outreach is to ensure that the maternal, newborn and xhild health week is optimally observed.
Also, the village head of the community, Mai Unguwa Goma, appreciated the organisers, pledging to ensure that people are visiting health facilities for improved health in the community.
While lamenting over the challenge of distance which people in the area cover to access health facilities, the ward focal person of the model primary healthcare centre, Kasuwar Dutse, Mukhtar Abbas described the outreach as timely.
During the outreach, nearly 50 pregnant women, 200 nursing mothers and children received the essential health services which included distribution of free insecticide treated bed nets, routine immunization, Vitamin A supplementation, deworming tablets, iron folic acid for pregnant women among others.