Health experts have lamented the continued poor health ranking of Nigeria in comparison to other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, a threat that may affect the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 as envisaged.
Recent data by the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey indicate that mortality rates from preventable causes, despite low, have remained, while childhood diseases have continued to take its toll on low income earners.
Analyses of the data underscores the reality that only three per cent of Nigerians between aged 15 and 49 have access to health insurance while infant mortality is at 67 deaths per 1,000 live births, meaning that one in eight children die before they are five years.
Neonatal mortality rate, a probability of dying in the first month of life is at 39 deaths per 1,000 live births.
According to the NDHS of 2018 as analysed recently by UNICEF at a media dialogue, 25 per cent of Nigerians still practice open defecation while only 39 per cent of households in rural communities have improved sanitation.
This poor sanitation index is perhaps why Nigeria still accounts for 25 per cent of the global Malaria burden despite interventions.
The survey further revealed that only 31 per cent of children aged 12 to 23 received all basic vaccination while those with no access to basic vaccinations moved from 29 per cent to 19 per cent.
Meanwhile, only 29 per cent of children less than six months are exclusively breastfed, while 37 per cent of children under five are stunted as a result of malnutrition.
Speaking to our correspondent, a health monitoring and evaluation specialist at UNICEF, Maureen Zubie-Okolo said Nigeria’s failure to use data in tackling its demographic challenge has left many children behind.