The Delta State Government has dismissed several health personnel indicted for extorting money from expectant mothers and children under five, despite the state’s free healthcare scheme for these groups. Others were demoted for related offences.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Joseph Onojaeme, revealed this on Saturday at the launch of the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation and Initiatives (MAMII) Project Action Plan in Ashaka, Ndokwa East Local Government Area.
He said the ministry had stepped up oversight of hospitals to guarantee that funds disbursed for maternal and child health were appropriately used.
“Health workers in the state have done well, but in every twelve, there is a Judas. We have received reports of some collecting money from pregnant women and children under five for drugs, while still forwarding the bills to the government for payment,” Onojaeme stated.
The commissioner emphasised that the government fully covers the medical bills of pregnant women until delivery, in addition to providing free care for children under five.
“We have demoted some of these fraudulent workers and sacked many within this short period. With continuous monitoring and the support of mothers, these practices will reduce,” he added.
Maternal Mortality Rate Drops as Delta Tightens Oversight
Onojaeme appealed to residents to report any health worker demanding payment for maternal or child services, explaining that the phone number of the Executive Assistant to the Governor on Health Monitoring would be made public for such complaints.
He further disclosed that the state’s maternal mortality rate had fallen from over 200 to below 120 per 100,000 live births, expressing optimism that the MAMII Project would drive the figures even lower.
The representative of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr John Ovuoraye, restated the Federal Government’s resolve to back states in reducing maternal and neonatal deaths.
He mentioned that 172 local government areas across 33 states had been marked as high-risk zones, including five in Delta: Ndokwa East, Ughelli North, Aniocha North, Udu, and Sapele.
Ovuoraye explained that the MAMII Project, supported by President Bola Tinubu, is being carried out in partnership 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 action plan’s full implementation.
