More than 100,000 mothers and children across various rural settlements in Nigeria would be served series of health services on how to live better lives and ensure same for their children in their locations before the end of this year, courtesy of Procter and Gamble’s Pampers Mobile Clinic.
The clinic, which was launched recently in Abuja, is an advisory clinic-on-wheel will reach mothers and babies right where they live.
Associate Marketing Manager, P&G West Africa, Mrs. Jaweria Ali, said the Pampers Mobile Clinic the clinic will offer free consultation and give expert on-the-spot medical advice allowing mothers address pressing worries such as feeding habits, breast feeding, sleep pattern, vaccination and common ailments.
Ali said this initiative is focused on assisting the development of children in need of health interventions, especially those between ages 0-13.
"This can be achieved by giving them a healthy start in life, providing access to education and programmes that help build their self esteem, social skills and empower them,” She added.
Speaking on the relevance of the programme, Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Abdullahi Salami, said "Children are held in high esteem in all our different cultures in Nigeria today. Unfortunately every day about 2,300 under-five children and 145 women of child bearing age die in Nigeria. This sad statistics makes Nigeria the second largest contributor to the under-five and maternal mortality in the world."
This dismal scenario, she stressed, can be avoided if quality health services reach all women and children who need care. This underscores the importance the Government attaches to the P&G innovation, which will impact the people positively. To this end, Salami welcomed the company to ‘bring its comparative advantage of market penetration and monopoly to bear on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health as part of efforts to promote the key household practices that have been proven to have the greatest impact on maternal and child survival.
President Paediatric Association of Nigeria, Professor Nuhu Ogala, who spoke at the launch in Abuja, announced that the association endorsed the Pampers brand clinical trials and it has been helping children to grow effectively. He said the company is playing its part in reducing infant mortality rate in the Country through the Mobile Clinic, which he described as ‘a worthy cause that will help prevent disease spread and keep baby healthy.’
Meanwhile, some of the mothers present at the event poured encomiums on P&G for the innovation. Mrs. Adasa Ubiem, a mother of two, said the innovation is "one of the best things that would happen to motherhood in Nigeria.” She said the mobile clinic is a step in the right direction that will go a long way in addressing infant mortality in Nigeria. She also applauded the fact that it will reach the rural areas, which need the service more.
Another mother, Mrs. Fausiat Abdulsalam said with the Mobile clinic the company has demonstrated that it is not only interested in selling its products, but most importantly in touching lives which the innovation stands for. She appealed to other companies to emulate ”this worthy cause that will give mothers insight on how to take care of their bundle of joy."
The Pampers Mobile Clinic Programme is being brought to mothers in semi-urban areas to help them tackle challenges like finance, transportation, education and inaccessibility of facilities that are usually a hindrance to their taking good care of their babies.
The mobile clinic comprises of two customised buses. This "advisory clinics on wheels" will have one qualified doctor, two nurses and six female assistants on board each. These professionals will provide medical consultancy services to nursing mothers in selected locations.
The Abuja launch of the programme marked the beginning of free medical consultation that will run for 10 months. The clinic will crisscross 100 semi-urban communities across Nigeria and is planned to render assistance to over 100,000 mothers in Nigeria within the period.
Mothers who avail themselves of this opportunity being provided by Pampers will be expected during the course of the ten months to consult the professionals on issues like feeding habits, breast feeding, sleep patterns, vaccination, and common ailments, which are usually their sources of worry.
P&G West Africa, the makers of Pampers Diapers, has over the years demonstrated its commitment to the Nigerian community by periodically giving back to the society through programmes that improve the lives of its women and children.
In 2006, the company launched its corporate social responsibility platform: Live Learn and Thrive in Nigeria, which was designed to consolidate all the existing social programmes of P&G.
The platform focuses on assisting the development of children in need between ages of 0 ‘ 13 by giving them a healthy start in life, providing access to education and access to programmes that help build their self esteem, social skills and empower them. Over two million children benefit from The Live Learn and Thrive programme annually