The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says no fewer than 250,000
children in Nigeria die on their first day of life, describing the
current indices for child health in the country as “alarming.”
Mr.
Maulid Warfa, the UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Kano, made the remark
in a goodwill message at the opening ceremony of the 51st Annual General
Meeting and Scientific Conference of Paediatric Association of Nigeria
(PAN) in Kano on Wednesday.
NAN reports that the conference was
organised in collaboration with UNICEF with the main theme: ‘The Impact
of Rapid Population Growth on the Child’.
Warfa said the figure is the second highest in the world, according to the 2017 multi indicator cluster survey.
“The
current indices for child health remains alarming as more than 250,000
children in Nigeria die on their first day of life, the second highest
in the World according to the 2017 multi indicator cluster survey.
“The
situation of Children in Nigeria today is at a crossroads, for change
could be either catastrophic if it continues in its current trajectory
or transformative if the opportunities available are strategically
harnessed.
“Clearly Nigeria is not the best country for those who
survive. A child born in Nigeria today is likely to live to the year
2074 while a child born in Denmark is likely to live until the 22nd
Century! I don’t want to mention the quality of life as he or she grows
up.
“Unfortunately, children are mostly dying from preventable
causes such as premature births, complications during delivery,
infections like sepsis, malaria and pneumonia – which is a key theme for
today’s gathering,” he said.
He said only broad-based
multi-sectoral and multi-partner collaboration could ensure that the
health and well-being of Nigerian children are secure.
He said
UNICEF and the Pediatric Association of Nigeria remained natural allies
in both our vision toward ensuring that every child survived and thrive,
our mission to influencing policies and programmes that impact the
wellbeing of every child. NAN
