Lagos, NGO train health educators in improved maternal care

The Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, in partnership with the Maternal and Reproductive Health Collective, has organised a two-day capacity-building workshop for health educators across the state to strengthen community engagement, improve health literacy and increase the use of primary healthcare services, particularly in maternal and reproductive health. The training, themed “Influencing Demand and Utilisation of Skilled Maternal Care in Lagos State,” was held at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, located within the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba on Tuesday, bringing together health educators working in primary healthcare centres across the state. In his opening remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, Ibrahim Mustafa, said the workshop was designed to address communication gaps between health facilities and the communities they serve. Maternal healthcare refers to a range of essential health services provided to women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (up to six weeks or 42 days after delivery) to protect the health of both mother and baby and prevent illness or death. It involves quality and comprehensive medical care, including antenatal (prenatal) check-ups, skilled attendance during childbirth and postnatal care after delivery. These services help monitor the mother’s health, detect complications early, and ensure safe delivery. Maternal healthcare also focuses on preventing and managing major risks associated with pregnancy and childbirth, such as severe bleeding, infections and high blood pressure-related conditions, which are among the leading causes of maternal deaths. Mustafa, represented by the Director in charge of the Health Care Planning, Research and Statistics Department of the board, Temitope Balogun-Alo, explained that health educators play a critical role in the primary healthcare system because they serve as the link between communities and health facilities where government health services are provided. “We understand the importance of the health educators. They are the ones that act as the interface between the community and the health facilities where patients and clients are supposed to access health services that have been made available by the state government,” she said. According to her, the training became necessary after authorities noticed a gap in the flow of information between health facilities and the communities they are meant to serve. “We noticed a slight disconnect and we felt it was time to bring people up to speed, including the health educators themselves, on ensuring continuity of information flow from the services being provided to the people it is meant for, in order to increase access and utilisation,” she explained. She added that the programme was designed to strengthen the role of health educators as the face of the primary healthcare system and emphasised the need for consistent engagement with community structures. According to her, health educators must maintain regular interaction with traditional and religious leaders, women’s groups, political leaders, associations and other stakeholders within communities to ensure that health information reaches residents effectively. She added that the training focuses on three key areas: equipping health educators with accurate and up-to-date information, strengthening their communication skills and improving strategies for community entry and engagement. Also speaking, Olajumoke Oke of the Maternal and Reproductive Health Collective said the training was aimed at improving the capacity of health educators to communicate more effectively with communities and encourage the use of skilled healthcare services. “The health educators have a vital role of engaging communities and sensitising them on health topics while also improving demand and utilisation for health care,” she said. Oke explained that the organisation focuses on maternal and reproductive health, intending to ensure that childbirth in Lagos is safe, respectful and dignified, particularly in public health facilities. She noted that the organisation works mainly in underserved communities, conducting research to understand the barriers that prevent women from accessing skilled healthcare during pregnancy and childbirth. According to her, findings from these studies informed the development of evidence-based programmes, including an initiative known as MamaBase, which operates using what she described as the MILES framework. The programme involves mapping communities with poor health indicators, identifying pregnant women through community health workers, linking them to nearby primary healthcare centres and supporting them throughout pregnancy through follow-up calls and visits. “With this, we have been able to build trust with women in the communities and link them to the health facilities,” she said. Despite improvements in antenatal care attendance, Oke noted that many women who begin antenatal care in health facilities still do not return there to deliver their babies. She explained that delivering in health facilities is important because complications during childbirth can be promptly managed by trained health professionals. Oke expressed confidence that the training would enhance the performance of health educators and strengthen community outreach across the state.