Lluvia, PZ Cussons Partner LUTH on Child Mortality

Sunday Okobi

The efforts to curb the high rate of child mortality in Nigeria have received a huge boost as management of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) recently took delivery of a new fully-equipped children healthcare centre to effectively combat the menace.

At the inauguration of the Olikoye Ransome-Kuti Children’s Emergency Centre which was facilitated by Lluvia Health Organisation, PZ Cussons and Premier in Idi Araba, Lagos, the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof. Chris Bode, noted that the health institution, with the reputation to handling tough medical issues, was impressed to have partnered the health organisations which donated the centre to reengineer medical services, especially as it relates to children.

Bode noted that his establishment never rejected patients, which he stated underscored its pivotal position in the nation’s healthcare sector.

According to her, the Project Director of Lluvia Health and one of the Coordinators of the programme, Dr. Amenze Eguavoen, the unveiling of the pediatric emergency centre was basically to cater for the health needs of patients, mostly children, adding that her organisation had gone beyond equipment and infrastructure provision to actually looking at the social and psychological needs of children and their caregivers.

Dr. Eguavoen said: “The psychological needs are not typically catered for, also, nobody really thinks so much about how the environment affects the healing of the child but studies actually show that arts can make a difference to hasten healing. So what we have done is create murals on the walls. You can see there are a lot of drawings on the walls. We have used a lot of child-friendly colours, a lot of muted colours as well to promote healing.

The coordinator who called for more attention for the health sector, also explained that “We’ve also provided bed screens to take care of the privacy and dignity of the patient. The children and their caregivers, when they are being examined, can be covered, so that not everybody would see what is going on behind the bed screen. Also, we have provided monitors to check pulse rate, heart rate, oxygen level for each patient that is attached to without the nurses having to round around with figs and thermometers and all sorts. So that’s supposed to shorten time to provide services and improve quality of care. All of these have definitely been done because we got funding from Cussons Baby and Premier, our partners on the project. That’s basically what the project is all about.”

In his remarks, the Coordinator/Consultant Pediatrician and LUTH Head of Accident and Emergency Department, Dr. Yemi Osinaike, hailed the project, describing it as “an amazing dream come true. It is an amazing project that has been delivered which will significantly go a long way to help us reduce mortality that our children come down with in this part of the world. The thing that they’ve done is to create an environment where children can be attended to that will enhance the feeling, not only of the child, but the doctor who is taking care of him/her. It is a laudable project that PZ and Lluvia have undertaken and for which we are very grateful.”

Osinaike noted that with the delivery, the hospital would now be able to cater effectively for the high attendance of patients from within and outside Lagos.