Pregnant women in Nigeria who attend antenatal clinics will receive N5,000 as part of the Midwives Service Scheme (MSS) that aims to reduce maternal mortality in Nigeria. The Midwives Service Scheme was set up in 2009, by the Federal Government, as a response to the high maternal, newborn and child mortality rates in Nigeria and is designed to deploy basic, unemployed, retired midwives and community health workers to select primary health care facilities in rural communities .
The Director of Primary Health Care System Development in the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, disclosed that about N15 billion has been budgeted for Maternal and Child Health Care and part of the money is to be used to employ about 2,000 midwives for the Midwives Service Scheme.
He said, â?œThe SURE-P Maternal and Child Health Care component has budgets close to 15 billion naira for maternal and child health component. Key elements involved is not just on the midwives bringing the pregnant women alone, the other component of it is what we call the conditional cash transfer; itâ?™s also part of the demand side intervention. You know in the health care delivery system we have the supply side intervention; we have the demand side intervention. For the supply side intervention includes all what we do; the input that we need to put in to provide the services. â?œBut the demand side intervention what do you need to do for the client to be able to come to access your services? You must remove the financial barrier.â?
�The key issue the conditional cash transfer is designed to address is those demand side constraints, but there is a financial incentive for the woman who does some basic things that are tied to being provided these incentives. The woman must deliver at the facility; if she does, she is entitled to something; the woman must also ensure that the child is fully immunised. The total package is about N5,000. It is not big, but the feeling is that considering the level of poverty, it�s enough for women to attend antenatal clinic.��
The Director also pointed out that women visiting the antenatal clinic would be attended to for free for the women.
