Assessment of Maternal and Child care service delivery component of National Strategic Health Development Plan (NSHDP) in Gombe State, Nigeria.

Abstract

The greatest human capital development challenge in Nigeria is centred on health care disease burden, whereby women and children carry the largest share of this burden. Consequently, this paper examines the availability and accessibility to maternal and childcare services as strategies for health care service delivery of National Strategic Health Development Plan in Gombe State,
Nigeria. The paper adopted survey and library documentation analysis methods. The primary data for the research was gathered through survey instruments: hence, questionnaire and key informant interview administered on both health care providers and health care beneficiaries. Data is analysed with the aid of descriptive and inferential statistical tools. The hypothesis is tested via
analysis of variance at 0.05 level of significance. The paper reveled that maternal and childcare services are available; also, there are functional maternal care services. It was also revealed that maternal and childcare drugs for immunisation, prenatal, antenatal and post-natal care are available, though the rate of maternal and child mortality is still high due to issues of acceptability.
The paper concluded that maternal and childcare services are available and accessible to a reasonable extent, except for the fact that, increase in mortality rate, remain an issue due to resistance. The paper recommends among others, the need for doorstep services to create awareness, and the training of traditional birth attendants to eliminate resistance as such will reduce mortality rate, and enhance effective health care delivery.