Muhammad Abubakar
8 August 2008
Bauchi — The Permanent Secretary in the Bauchi State Ministry of Health, Dr. Muhammad Ali Hussaini, has identified lack of sufficient knowledge by some Muslim clerics in Northern Nigeria as being responsible for the high level of maternal mortality in the area.
The permanent secretary said because of their limited knowledge on some aspects of Islamic teachings, the religious leaders tend to preach against women going to hospital for ante-natal checkups as well as other consultations that would reduce maternal mortality.
Dr. Muhammad Ali Hussaini made this observation when he received in his office, the Bauchi maternal health advocacy team of the Development Research and Project Center DPRC on Wednesday.
He said contrary to what obtains in other Muslim communities around the world where women are allowed to go to the hospital to seek medical attention, some religious leaders here see it as un-Islamic.
The permanent secretary disclosed that the Bauchi State government had plans to introduce measures where the time it takes pregnant women to reach hospitals would be reduced through the provision of 30 new ambulances throughout the state.
He called on husbands and religious leaders to reciprocate government's efforts by allowing their wives as well as preaching to them to always go to the hospital for medical attention as the government introduced free maternity and under-5 children medical and nutritional services in the state.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Daily Trust. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
