Date: 2018-08-07

The ground-breaking partnership between the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), Johnson & Johnson and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine is set to expand across the whole of Kwara State, in an announcement due to take place today.

The partnership, which focuses on Emergency Obstetrics and Newborn Care (EmONC) training in healthcare facilities to improve health outcomes for mothers and their newborns, has already been active in 7 of the 16 Local Government areas in Kwara State, and resulted in a 15% reduction in maternal case fatality rate and a 38% reduction in the still birth rate in health care facilities where the project is implemented. It will now cover all 16 LGAs and consolidate the work in the areas in which the training is already active. This follows the successful completion of the first two phases of the partnership, which have been hailed as transforming the capacity of healthcare workers and their ability to save lives during labour.

Her Excellency Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki, Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), commented:

"Partnerships like ours are so important because of the huge improvements that can readily be made. 80% of all maternal deaths result from five complications which can be readily treated by qualified and trained health professionals: haemorrhage, sepsis, eclampsia, complications of abortion and obstructed labour. Our EmONC training is so successful because it takes place in-house and equips doctors, nurses and midwives, as a collective team, with the skills needed to overcome these obstetric emergencies."

"We will build on the lessons we have learned from our partnership to improve outcomes across all LGAs in Kwara State. I look forward to working together with our esteemed partners, local champions and health workers, to continue to save lives and help mothers, newborns and communities thrive."

Michelle Akande, Country Manager for Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson in Nigeria, commented: "We believe, in partnerships, we can achieve so much more than what we can achieve alone. Because of partners such as Wellbeing Foundation Africa and the Centre for Maternal and Newborn Health at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, we believe we can achieve the aspiration of ending preventable maternal and child death. However, we need each and every one of you to join us because it is our collective dedication and commitment that will make this aspiration a reality!"

Dr Charles Ameh, Senior Clinical Lecturer, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) said:

"What is particularly exciting about phase three of this programme is the ability to be able to improve the availability and quality of emergency obstetric and newborn care across the entire state. The continued partnership with Johnson & Johnson, Wellbeing Foundation Africa and the Ministry of Health in Kwara State will not only allow LSTM to build the capacity of health care workers in LGAs where we have not worked before, but we will be consolidating the achievements of previous phases to ensure sustainability of the intervention."