CHAMPS Leads Maternal Health Drive to Curb Home Deliveries in Bauchi
By Ahmed Ahmed
A comprehensive maternal health awareness campaign aimed at reducing home deliveries and promoting safer childbirth practices has been conducted in Miya, Ganjuwa Local Government Area of Bauchi State.
The campaign, organised by the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) Project of the College of Medical Sciences, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), in collaboration with Ganjuwa volunteers and health workers, was held at Sultan Abubakar Sa’ad Nursery, Primary and Secondary School, Miya.
Speaking at the opening, Dr. Abubakar Sari, Lead Data-to-Action Officer of CHAMPS for the Bauchi Catchment Area, said the initiative was designed as a data-driven intervention to address gaps in maternal healthcare utilisation.
The campaign, themed “From Home Delivery to Health Facility Delivery: A Safer Journey for Mothers and Babies,” was informed by preliminary findings indicating that 61.4 per cent of women in the area still deliver at home.
Sari explained that the outreach combined evidence-based messaging with community engagement to encourage expectant mothers to enrol early in antenatal care (ANC), preferably before 20 weeks of pregnancy, and complete at least eight visits before delivery.
Also speaking, Dr. Jamilu Yahya, Lead Committee Engagement, CHAMPS, Bauchi State University, said the outreach was motivated by behavioural patterns contributing to low hospital delivery rates.
“This outreach is data-motivated. Our findings showed that some mothers are not accessing hospital delivery services, and we believe this is behaviour-related,” he said.
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He noted that the programme featured interactive sessions that allowed participants to ask questions and express concerns, while local women leaders facilitated communication by translating messages into indigenous languages.
Yahya described the exercise as impactful, adding that it focused on practical issues such as hygiene during pregnancy and childbirth to reduce maternal and child mortality.
He, however, identified challenges including cost of care, distance to health facilities, negative attitudes of some healthcare workers, and limited availability of personnel, especially at night.
In his remarks, Malam Rabiu M. Yau, Chairman of Miya Ward Development Committee, commended the initiative, expressing optimism that it would boost antenatal attendance and reduce home deliveries.
The outreach recorded strong community participation, reflecting growing acceptance of health education efforts aimed at improving maternal and child health outcomes in the area.