Bauchi activist takes action for maternal and newborn health

The MamaYe launch in Bauchi State came with a twist when one Mr. Jinjiri Garba held the audience captivated with the energy in his voice, throwing a serious challenge at guardians of the health system and policy makers that were present, and awakening a new sense of responsibility in the audience.Before Jinjiri took the floor, the immediate past Commissioner of Health of the State, Dr. Sani Abubakar Malami, who stood in for the equally immediate past Governor of the State, commended the efforts of MamaYe in supporting evidence based planning and implementation in the health sector. He said, “They (MamaYe) are doing a very wonderful job in Bauchi.”Dr. Malami described recognising MamaYe champions, heroes and heroines of maternal and newborn health (MNH) as a giant leap when he stated, “By honouring who are alive, we’re honouring humanity.”He also described the event as unique, given that in present times, people find role models only among the rich rather than in nurses or CHEWs or in people who are taking selfless actions, no matter how small. He added that everyone should contribute to the nation’s development.MamaYe has been working with CSOs and other NGOs in Bauchi for a while, but the reason for the launch was to recognise individuals and groups who have contributed to saving the lives of pregnant women and newborns. MamaYe also wanted to motivate others to take similar action.The pictures below show those who won MamaYe awards and what they contributed to the development of the health of pregnant women and newborns to deserve the awards.After the awards had been presented, a panel discussion on prioritising financing maternal and newborn health, availability of life-saving drugs 24/7, functional blood banks and midwives 24/7 at health facilities was held. It was at this point that Jinjiri made his captivating speech.Jinjiri Garba is the chairman of the Bauchi State Civil Society Coalition (BASNEC). As you can see in his photo, he is a man of conspicuous size, and so was the voice he used to decry the situation of all the 24 secondary health facilities in Bauchi State. He was a perfect example of throwing your weight behind the issue.Jinjiri was unhappy that the whole 24 secondary facilities in Bauchi State do not have functional blood banks. He was also unsatisfied with the Hospital Management Board for not assessing communities’ level of need for blood before collecting blood donations. And about emergencies, he said, “I need an ambulance, I don’t know how you’ll get it but get me an ambulance!”He also lamented about poor attitudes of health workers, and the way life-saving drugs meant for mothers and newborns expire, something he discovered when his coalition visited some health facilities.That was the second time I saw someone stand up to policy makers openly to demand health rights. The first time, it was one of the awardees whose photo is above, Mrs. Salome Sambo Yuyu. She was very disgusted that women and children were dying while some government officials took vehicles meant for health facilities to their homes and claimed that such vehicles did not exist.In what seemed like a coincidence, Jinjiri and Mrs. Yuyu are both from Bauchi State. Another person to watch out for is Ashiru Adamu Abubakar, who was part of the first set of MamaYe Hero/Heroine awardees in 2013, and a Young African Leadership Initiative fellow.When we see people like Jinjiri, Mrs. Yuyu, Adamu Abubakar and a host of MamaYe student activists in Bauchi, Ondo, Kano, Jigawa, Taraba and Gombe who are taking actions and inspiring others, MamaYe is rest assured that maternal and newborn health will become an issue under the spotlight, and health facilities in the State will become safe for pregnant women and newborns.