1 child dies every minute in Nigeria – UNICEF

A report by the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) notes that a child under the age of one dies in Nigeria every minute, while five women die every hour in childbirth.

The report, which deals with child mortality and malnutrition in Nigeria, notes that many of these deaths are from preventable diseases such as pneumonia, malaria and diarrhoea in the case of children, and excessive bleeding and infection in the case of maternal deaths.

Reacting to this report, Fidson Healthcare plc says it is important to have better child health and nutrition in line with the global campaign against child mortality.

Expressing concern about the worrisome statistics, Ola Ijimakin, general manager, sales and marketing, Fidson Healthcare, says there is the need to save the future of Nigeria by paying serious attention to the health and wellbeing of the children as a matter of urgency.

“We cannot continue to fold our hands and watch our children suffer malnutrition or die of preventable diseases. The government, organisations, groups and even individuals at family level must play a role to help save a child,” Ijimakin says.

Ijimakin acknowledges the efforts of the Federal Government through the Ministry of Health’s Integrated Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (IMNCH) in addressing this concern.

“We appreciate the Nigerian government for putting together a programme that is designed to revive primary health care in every local government. This programme is said to cover broadly some significant maternal and child health interventions. We hope that it will drastically reduce maternal, newborn and under-five mortality in line with the 4th and 5th Millennium Development Goals targets. But we cannot leave it to the government alone. We all have to play a part in addressing these problems,” he says.

Ijimakin recommends proper attention and a sustained investment in quality healthcare solutions, as well as timely intervention to the various health issues ravaging the Nigerian Child to save lives.

Ijimakin says Fidson plays a major role in educating parents on the healthcare needs of their families, particularly the children through various channels of communication available to the company and through its representatives across the country.

He adds that the drug maker explores global health calendar events to create more enlightenment on children’s health issues, using direct interactions, press and online media channels.