The Delta State government has dismissed several workers and demoted some for extorting money from pregnant women and children under five years, despite the state’s free healthcare policy for these groups.
Commissioner for health, Dr. Joseph Onojaeme, disclosed this yesterday at Ashaka, Ndokwa East local government area, during the flag-off of the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation and Initiatives (MAMII) Project Action Plan.
Onojaeme revealed that some health workers had been sanctioned for collecting money from pregnant women and children under five years for drugs, while still forwarding the bills to the government for payment.
Onojaeme said pregnant women in Delta State are entitled to free healthcare until delivery, while children under five also receive free medical treatment.
He assured that monitoring would continue to ensure that funds released for maternal and child healthcare were properly utilised.
He encouraged residents to report any health worker demanding payment, adding that the phone number of the Executive Assistant to the Governor on Health Monitoring would be made public for such reports.
“Health workers in the state have done well, but in every 12, there is a Judas,” he said.
He expressed optimism that the programme would further reduce maternal and child deaths in the state.
According to him, Delta State has recorded a significant reduction in maternal mortality, with figures dropping from over 200 to less than 120 per 100,000 live births.
In his remarks, the representative of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. John Ovuoraye, pledged federal government support to states in tackling maternal and neonatal mortality.
He noted that 172 local government areas across 33 states had been identified as high-risk zones, including five in Delta—Ndokwa East, Ughelli North, Aniocha North, Udu and Sapele.
Ovuoraye added that the MAMII Project, backed by President Bola Tinubu, is being implemented in collaboration with USAID, WHO, UNICEF, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, and several European partners.
The event featured the presentation of the MAMII plaque to Delta state and the inauguration of a task force to drive the project’s action plan.
