Source: The Nation

The mortality rate in Oyo state has led to the launching of a new health initiative for mother, and child in the state. Speaking at the launching of ‘Tomotiya Initiative’ Governor Makinde, who was represented by his Deputy, Rauf Olaniyan said “before the administration was inaugurated last year, we had studied statistics on the various sectors in Oyo State which formed a basis for what our focal points would be. 

“One of the sectors that we realised we had to focus on was the health care sector. We knew there were huge infrastructural deficits in the sector. But something else that caught our attention was the quality and cost of health care and their multiplier effects on the vulnerable. 

“From the 2018 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), we notice that in Oyo State, the rate death of children under the age of one is 41 deaths per 1000 live births. That puts us as the third-worst in Nigeria after Kano and Jigawa. Oyo State contributes over 30 per cent of the total of all infant mortalities in Nigeria.

 “Therefore, we had gone to the drawing table and come up with an initiative that will drastically reduce these figures. It is this project that we are here today to inaugurate, the Tomotiya Initiative.”