NPHCDA Rates Ebonyi, Enugu Highest In Patronizing Traditional Birth Attendant

National Primary Healthcare Development Agency(NPHCDA), during weekend condemned pregnant women in South-East zone especially those from Ebonyi and Enugu state who patronize Traditional Birth Attendants instead of going to government health facilities for ante-natal and post natal services .

The Agency threatened to sanction any primary health facility that allows Community Health Officers (CHOs) in their hospitals to carry out cesarean section on pregnant women, noting that only Medical Doctors were qualified to conduct surgeries on pregnant women and other patients in primary health facilities.

The Zonal Director of the Agency, Dr. Eric Nwaze stated this in Abakaliki during a one-day workshop organized by Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn(PERL) for health stakeholders and the media.

According to him, the Agency has been receiving reports that CHOs have been carrying out cesarean sections on pregnant women which has led to the death of many women including the recent one in Onueke, Ezza South Local government area of Ebonyi state where a 26 year old woman died after an alleged CHO conducted surgery on her.

Dr Nwaze also threatened that the Agency will sanction any health official in the Primary Health facilities who is seen parading himself or herself as a Medical Doctor when he is not, noting its unacceptable and will sanction any erring primary health facility.

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In his words; “ in Minimum standard of Primary Healthcare in Nigeria, Community Health Officers(CHOs) are not permitted to carry out cesarean sections. The rules governing availability of the health work force for Primary Health centres show clearly that you could have medical officers heading Primary Health centres in their absence of the CHOs.

“Community Health Officers should not under any guise carry out cesarean sections but they may aid Primary Health centres and so if there are situations where CHOs have been known to carry out such surgical operations, that needs to be communicated to appropriate health authorities for individual states and I am sure that the board and the Ministry need to conduct visits at specific time to actually validate information.

“I am sure the rules are clear on what can happen to health facilities that permit CHOs to conduct surgical operation. Where we are able to verify that any health official is parading himself/herself as a Doctor while he or she is not, we will take steps to ensure that such practice is brought to a halt timely”.