The Cross River State Primary Health Care Development Agency (CRSPHCDA), in collaboration with the State Ministry of Health and development partners, has flagged off the 2026 Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) Week, a statewide intervention aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of mothers and children across the state.
The week-long programme, which runs from June 11 to June 15, will provide a range of life-saving healthcare services, including routine immunization for children aged zero to 15 months, introduction of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine for nine-year-old girls, administration of multiple micronutrient supplements, iron and folic acid tablets to prevent anaemia, and Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP) for the prevention of malaria in pregnancy.
The programme will also offer HIV and Tuberculosis screening, testing and counselling services.
Flagging off the exercise in Calabar, Wife of the Governor of Cross River State, Bishop Eyoanwan Bassey Otu, urged parents, caregivers and community members to take full advantage of the free healthcare services being offered during the campaign. She described the intervention as a critical investment in the health of families and communities, emphasizing that the services were safe, effective and accessible to all beneficiaries.
“These interventions are free, safe and designed to protect the health of our families. A healthy child is the foundation of a healthy community, and a healthy mother is the strength of a healthy nation,” she said.
The Governor’s Wife noted that the campaign remains one of the most cost-effective and life-saving public health initiatives, specifically designed to protect, nurture and empower mothers, newborns and children in all 18 local government areas of the state. In his remarks, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Henry Ayuk, said the state’s commitment to taking healthcare services directly to communities had yielded significant results and remained one of the notable achievements of the health sector under the present administration.
He encouraged parents to ensure that their children receive the recommended vaccines and health services, while calling for increased support for the outreach programmes championed by the Office of the First Lady. According to him, healthcare outreach interventions have become a major contributor to service delivery in the state. “In 2025, we recorded an estimated 400,000 outpatient visits in our hospitals. About 20 percent of these were generated through outreach programmes, while the Governor’s Wife’s NGO accounted for 65 percent of that number. If a programme is contributing nearly 20 percent of our patient flow, then it deserves sustained support and institutional backing,” Ayuk stated.
Director-General of the Cross River State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Vivien Mesembe Otu, said the MNCH Week was designed to address preventable health challenges still affecting many families across the state through improved access to essential healthcare services. She described the initiative as one of the most important public health interventions on the agency’s calendar and reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to ensuring that no mother, newborn or child is left behind.
Dr. Otu also commended the Governor’s Wife for her unwavering advocacy and support for maternal and child health programmes, noting that her interventions have continued to make a positive impact on families and communities across the state.
Chairman of the Cross River State House of Assembly Committee on Health and member representing Boki II State Constituency, Rt. Hon. Hilary Bisong, applauded the state government for what he described as a programme that brings hope to families and delivers life-saving opportunities to vulnerable populations.
Also speaking, the representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Rebecca Olatunde, emphasized the need to extend the programme to hard-to-reach communities and ensure accurate data collection to measure the number of mothers and children reached and lives saved.
Representatives of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency and UNICEF, Christian Okechukwu and Dr. Hillary Ozong respectively, commended the Cross River State Government for demonstrating the political will to release counterpart funding and support the successful implementation of the programme.
The ceremony featured the symbolic presentation of healthcare packs and the administration of vaccines by Bishop Eyoanwan Otu, marking the official commencement of activities for the 2026 Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week across the state. Health officials expressed optimism that the exercise would significantly improve immunization coverage, maternal health outcomes and access to preventive healthcare services for thousands of women and children in Cross River State.
By Kingsley Agim and Offiong Itang
