The Oyo State government, in collaboration with Evidence Action, has launched the use of haemoglobinometers to improve anaemia testing among pregnant women and reduce maternal mortality in the state.
Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, at the launch of the haemoglobinometers and microcuvettes donated by Evidence Action, said 42 primary and six secondary health facilities have been selected to benefit from the donated haemoglobinometers and microcuvettes aimed at strengthening detection and management of anaemia in pregnancy.
Ajetunmobi said that anaemia remains a major public health concern, particularly among pregnant women, where it significantly contributes to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality.
She declared, “This donation will enable us to establish baseline haemoglobin levels, which will be instrumental in measuring and comparing the impact of Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) against the currently adopted Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) supplementation. With evidence-based data, we can make informed decisions to improve maternal health outcomes in the state.
“There is no doubt that these devices will strengthen our ability to detect and manage anaemia, ensuring that every identified case receives appropriate treatment. This will contribute significantly to reducing maternal mortality in Oyo State.
Pharmacist Dr Tope Ogunbi, the country director of Evidence Action, said a baseline assessment in January showed that the level of anaemia testing in Oyo State is suboptimal. This led to Evidence Action donating the haemoglobinometers and products.
Ogunbi, represented by the Senior Programme Manager for Evidence Action in the South West zone, Maryann Edeh, said the donation will ensure that all pregnant women within Oyo East, Oyo West, Afijio and Ibarapa Southwest local governments can receive a diagnosis for anaemia and be managed at the same time.
According to him, Evidence Action is piloting MMS in FCT and Oyo State in partnership with the Oyo State government to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and cost-effectiveness of introducing and scaling up MMS in Nigeria.
“We’re looking to scale up access to MMS such that every pregnant woman is able to access MMS for the full 180-day course of pregnancy. We’re also seeking to improve or scale up adherence. Beyond just having access to MMS, we want each pregnant woman to continue to take the daily MMS as recommended.
“And then the last objective is to improve anaemia screening and management in these four LGAs where we’re working, and how we could achieve that is by ensuring that the anaemia management protocol is in place to support the screening and treatment.”
Executive Secretary of the Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, Dr Muideen Olatunji, represented by Dr Dele Osoko, stated that donated haemoglobinometers and microcuvettes are battery-operated and so appropriate technology that will bring about quality of care, particularly in our rural setting.
According to him, “When equipment like this comes that can help us to make a quick diagnosis in our health facility, for us it’s a very highly welcome development. We hope that we will have enough to go around all the primary health care facilities, and we’ll have extra to sustain it in case any one of them develops any fault.”
Dr Femi Adesanya, a director (medical services) at the Oyo State Hospital Management Board, stated that anaemia remains the main cause of maternal mortality all over the world, especially in low-resource African settings like Nigeria.
According to him, “When you are anaemic, you are already predisposed to more bleeding, thereby further tilting the woman to morbidity and mortality. So, this contribution from Evidence Action is really significant.”
Chairman of the House Committee on Nutrition, Honourable Abiodun Babalola, said the haemoglobinometers are appropriate considering that patronage of PHCs that lack power supply is low and urged that the equipment be made available to all PHCs across the state to support increased healthcare services.
Director of Nutrition at the Primary Healthcare Board, Dr Khadijat Alarape, in an overview of nutrition in Oyo State, said that although cases of stunting had reduced from 37.2 per cent to 23.4 per cent, wasting has shot up from 5 per cent to 14.4 per cent.
She declared that a 6-month sustainability work plan, involving a multisectoral collaboration, had also been developed to maintain the gains made in reducing cases of stunting while also tackling the increased incidence of wasting.
“So we now produce about 4,000 sachets of soy flour, which we distribute across the 33 LGAs. Part of the sustainability plan is also to move around the 33 LGAs to screen children and build the capacity of their mothers on how to make soy production. And lastly, at the other primary care board, there’s a provision from the basic health package for food demonstration in all the 33 LGAs.”
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