By: Bashir Hassan Abubakar
The UNICEF Field Office in Bauchi State, with support from Global Affairs Canada (GAC), has supported Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Board with 45 motorcycles to improve reproductive, maternal and child healthcare services in remote communities.
Presenting the motorcycles in Bauchi on Monday, UNICEF Chief of Bauchi Field Office, Dr. Nuzhat Rafique, said the intervention is aimed at reaching vulnerable women and children in hard-to-access areas across the state’s 20 local government areas.
Dr. Rafique said many children in remote settlements remain zero-dose, having never received routine vaccines, while several women, particularly adolescent mothers, lack access to antenatal care and safe delivery services.
She stressed that the motorcycles would enable health workers to take services directly to communities, noting that maternal and newborn mortality remains high in the North-East and requires urgent, coordinated action.
“If they cannot reach us, we must reach them,” she said.
UNICEF Health Specialist, Seyi Olosunde, explained that the motorcycles would support integrated outreach services, with immunization teams accompanied by nurses and community midwives to provide broader primary healthcare.
Bauchi State Commissioner for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Sani Mohammed Dambam, commended UNICEF and Canada for the support, saying the donation would strengthen awareness and access to antenatal care, routine immunization and hospital deliveries.
