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Coca-Cola mobilises donation of mother-child medical equipment to AKTH in Safe Birth Initiative 

Coca-Cola mobilises donation of mother-child medical equipment to AKTH in Safe Birth Initiative 

The Coca-Cola Safe Birth Initiative (SBI) has spearheaded the donation of mother-child medical equipment to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano.

The hospital was the latest so far to benefit from the SBI, a system comprising Coca-Cola Nigeria and its bottling partner, Nigerian Bottling Company, (NBC), which was launched in 2018 to delivers both equipment and human capacity building to health institutions across Nigeria with the hope of bridging the shortfall in the availability of state-of-the-art medical equipment and a dearth of skilled manpower to optimally maintain what is available. 

The Coca-Cola System has embarked on this initiative because available data shows that about 240,000 babies die within the first week of life, out of the seven million babies born in Nigeria annually. Most of these deaths occur as a result of complication during regnancy and childbirth. 

All these deaths can be prevented through accelerated response to achieve a remarkable reduction in maternal, newborn, and under-five mortality. 

With an estimated population of about 180 million people, a maternal mortality ratio of 576 per 100,000 live births, a neonatal mortality rate of 37 per 1000 live births, and an under-five mortality rate of 128 per 1000 live births, Nigeria’s Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) platform is in dire need of support to prevent these mortalities. 

 Under the SBI programme and, the Coca-Cola System through partnership association with the Federal Ministry of Health, the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, and MedShare International, the Coca-Cola System its non- governmental organisation partner is providing shipped medical neonatal and maternal medical equipment/supplies worth over $10.82 million to about fifteen seven tertiary health institutions in Nigeria, including more recently Wesley Guild Hospital, University of Ilorin, University of Port-Harcourt Teaching Hospital, and now Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital.  

The donations to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital are worth $724, 657.40. 

Alfred Olajide, Vice President and Managing Director, Coca-Cola at the Aminu Kano University Teaching Hospital, Kano explained that the SBI is a health-centric strategy with which the Coca-Cola System aims to reduce the high rate of deaths that have been occurring during childbirth in Nigeria, both for mothers and newborns. 

Eben Armstrong, Director, Biomedical Engineering Training & and Technical Services, Medshare International, expressed the NGO’s commitment to the triangle partnership and said they got involved in the initiative as they understand the damage to families that results from high neonatal and maternal mortality rates costs families., and as humanitarians, will continue to do all within its means to reduce the mortality rate. 

He said, ‘’We are a humanitarian aid organisation dedicated to improving the lives of the people all over the world., and wWe just don’t provide equipment, we provide capacity buildingtraining to the biomedical engineers and technicians aiding their efficient usageon how to judiciously use the of available medical various equipment, and this which has brought healing hope and promise of a better life to countless people Nigerians through the Safe Birth Initiative” 

The Chief Medical Director, AKMTH, Prof Abdulrrahman Abba Sheshe, who was represented at the ceremony by the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), Prof Auwalu Gajida, expressed his delight at the donation of medical equipment, as he highlighted that with the donation, more mothers and newborn babies have been afforded better odds in favour of safe deliveries.  

Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, Director, Public Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability, Coca-Cola Nigeria expressed gratitude that finally there is an official inauguration ceremony for the neonatal equipment in Kano. 

 

Share your thoughts on the story Coca-Cola mobilises donation of mother-child medical equipment to AKTH in Safe Birth Initiative with Nigerian Sketch in the comments section. 

 

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