The United Nation’s Children’s (UNICEF) Fund has expressed happiness over the progress in the reduction of child mortality in Nigeria.
Charles Nzuki, the chief of UNICEF A-Field Office, who stated this also commended excellent results towards achieving MDG4 by 2015 saying that infant mortality rate has been failing drastically noting that the main causes of infant and child deaths are pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria. Nzuki made the disclosure on the occasion of a breakfast meeting of UNICEF and journalists in the UNICEF A-Field Office Enugu.
He explained that the UNICEF covers ten states made up of those in the South-East, South-South and Benue, and would this year focus on programmes aimed at systems strengthening for routine immunisation for all under-five children and also integrated maternal neonatal child health interventions.
“We will support our government partners and other partners to deliver quick impact intervention to increase the coverage in immunisation to reduce the preventable diseases among the children in the states covered,” he stated. Nzuki said they would also engage in water sanitation and hygiene which is needful in the insurance of the protection of the health of the child, expressing worries that a huge population in the country still remain without access to safe drinking water.
On the area of HIV/AIDS prevention and control, he said, “We are working with many other partners in synergising our efforts for elimination of mother-to-child transmission of the HIV/AIDS, including care and treatment of children, women and adolescents living with the HIV.”
The UNICEF boss remarked that UNICEF around the world sources and maintains various levels of partnership and engages them in advocacy priorities for improved awareness and implementation of programmes for the child survival, development and protection.
REGIS ANUKWUOJI, Enugu
