Access Bank Partners Group on Maternal, Child Mortality Reduction

Access Bank through its ‘W’ initiative said it has gone into partnership with Business Direct and Services on the Audrey Pack project in Nigeria. The project, according to the bank is focused on the reduction of maternal and child mortality.

Every single day, Nigeria loses about 2,300 under-five year olds and 145 women of childbearing age. This makes the country the second largest contributor to the under–five and maternal mortality rate in the world, according to UNICEF.

The Audrey Pack is a free co-branded bag distributed to expectant and new moms in government and private hospitals nationwide. It contains free products samples from multi-nationals, antenatal and healthcare information and of course, information on managing family finances.

Therefore, the bank explained in a statement that with the collaboration, its ‘W’ initiative would be liaising with both private and government owned hospitals to deliver free Audrey packs to expectant and new moms.

“Specifically, there will be educative sessions where women will be equipped with resources to help them make informed choices before, during and after pregnancy.  In addition, the project is also poised to provide access to better health care services with the Maternal Health Service Support (MHSS) which is specially designed to support women and families with easy and convenient options to pay for medical expenses,” it added.

According to the Group Head of Inclusive Banking at Access Bank, Ope Wemi-Jones, the ‘W’ initiative is the home for everything Access Bank offers to women and transcends just a banking relationship. “It is our approach to banking women based on our understanding of their financial and lifestyle needs. In the quest to support access to quality health care, the Bank introduced the first of its kind Maternal Health Service Support (MHSS) which provides affordable financing options for medical procedures peculiar to women. This includes IVF procedures, Natal care, Myomectomies, Hysterectomies, and specialized Surgeries amongst others,” she stated.
She also stated that recipients of the Audrey Pack can benefit from the unique offerings of the W Initiative which includes access to women around the world through the W community, the No 1 online interactive platform designed to Inspire, Connect and Empower women.
The Audrey pack project is a further attestation of Access Bank’s commitment to the empowerment of the Nigerian Women and Families.