Health: FHI360- Alive & Thrive advocates inclusion of MMS in Bauchi’s State Essential Medicines List.
By Samuel Luka Bauchi
In order to improve maternal and child health outcomes, a Non-governmental organization, FHI360- Alive & Thrive conducted a 2-Day workshop to review the State Essential Medicines List (EML) and also ensure the inclusion of Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) into the Bauchi state EML.
Bauchi State Team Lead of the organization, Mr. Chidiebere Asimobi who made this known during a 2-day workshop on review of essential medicines list (EML) for adults and children in Bauchi, stressed that MMS has been proven to improve pregnancy experience and maternal survival.
He added that the Multi Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) can also prevent malnutrition and reduce child mortality, anemia, iron deficiency, and other micronutrient
deficiencies in women and children.
Mr. Chidiebere who noted that MMS usage leads to reduction in preterm births, babies considered small-for-
gestational age and low birth weight, added that it can also lead to fewer stillbirths.
He said infants born to women receiving MMS who are underweight, and anaemic have a 15% reduction in the risk of neonatal and infant
mortality, stressing further that there is no evidence of harm or toxicity from exceeding the upper intake level of MMS which is quite tolerated by most pregnant women.
Declaring the workshop open, the Bauchi state Commissioner of Health, Dr. Sani Mohammed Dambam, said the workshop came at the right time when all hands are on deck to improve the health and well-being of the people of Bauchi state under the administration of Governor Bala Mohammed.
According to him, the health sector has been receiving topmost priority since the inception of the present government in 2019, adding that so many things have been done and others ongoing to improve the health sector.
“We are all aware, some of them include the immediate declaration of state of emergency in the health sector since inception of this administration, which means many of the bureaucratic bottlenecks are being bypassed in order to achieve the desired goal”, he said.
While commending the immense contributions of Alive and Thrive in the Bauchi state health sector, the commissioner recalled that the state under Governor Bala Mohammed had convened the first health summit in Northern that drew a blueprint for the state health sector.
Our Correspondent gathered that MMS are prenatal supplements containing 13-15 vitamins and minerals, including iron and folic acid, that are designed to improve maternal and child health outcomes, especially in areas with high rates of micronutrient deficiencies.
MMS are daily supplements containing a combination of vitamins and minerals, including iron and folic acid, designed to meet the increased nutritional needs of pregnant women.