Access Bank’s women empowerment arm, the ‘W’ Initiative, has welcomed a new set of twins through its Maternal Health Service Support (MHSS) Scheme.

The scheme, which was created to ease the financial burden associated with accessing both local and international fertility treatments and natal support, was accessed by one of Access Bank’s customers last year—the result of which is a twin birth following a successful In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) procedure in Port Harcourt.

Abiodun Olubitan, Group Head, W Initiative Access Bank, said fertility treatments and natal supports are generally expensive, making them inaccessible to many families who need them.

He added: “More so, many of these treatments require multiple cycles completed to increase the success probability. Each cycle and each treatment increases the financial burden families have to face to bear the children they desire

“Unfortunately, these treatments do not guarantee the desired results. Many families have had to go through them repeatedly, which makes the financial requirements crushing. We launched the Maternal Health Service Support to help families shoulder that burden. We are ecstatic over the news of our customer’s set of twins, and we look forward to hearing more positive news in the near future,” she added.

Since its launch, Access Bank has disbursed over N211 Million in loans through the MHSS, positively impacting hundreds of women with low-cost health financing that has thus far resulted in 78 births.

The MHSS serves as the ‘W’ Initiative’s vehicle to finance various health procedures, including fibroid treatments, bone marrow transplants, child delivery, weight loss, surrogacy amongst others.