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Nigeria Ranks Second In Infant Mortality – UNICEF
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has rated Nigeria as the second largest contributor to under-five mortality in the world.
The Chief of Field Office, UNICEF, Wilbroad Ngambi revealed this while delivering his goodwill message at the formal flag-off ceremony of the Rivers State Second Round of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health week (MNCH) at the Primary Health Centre, Ogale, Eleme, in Eleme Local Government Area of the state, yesterday.
Ngambi, who noted the nation’s slow progress in achieving its Millennium Development Goals targets at its 53rd National Council of Health in March, 2010, said the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health week was introduced, among other measures, as a priority and strategic action to accelerate the reduction in child mortality and improvement of maternal health.
He regretted, however, that the aim has been defeated, arguing that the targets set in the Sustainable Development Goals must be achieved if Nigeria is to overcome the enormous challenges posed by the overlapping deficits in the sector.
According to him “the MNCH week is organized to deliver an integrated package of highly cost-effective maternal, newborn and child health services/interventions. Sadly, however, Nigeria is the second largest contributor to under-five mortality in the world. The MDG 4 target of reducing under-five mortality to 71 per 1,000 live births by 2015 was not met.
Ngambi, however, said that Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) for mortality showed a sharp decline from 97/1,000 live births to 55.6 per 1,000 live births in the 2014 MDG report.
Commending the state for performing better than the national average, the state UNICEF boss noted, however, that the most recent MICS report recorded an upward trend of 58/1,000 live births in the MICS of 2016, adding that under nutrition among under-five children in the state still showed significant rate of 22.3 per cent stinting rates.
Ngambi, therefore, called on all stakeholders to take advantage of the programme that offers opportunity for awareness creation on the importance of recommended and proven health and nutrition interventions to the survival and general wellbeing of mother and child as well as its impact in national development, productivity, and economic growth.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the event, the Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Prof Princewill Chike condemned the act of mothers patronizing herbalists for themselves and their children, maintaining that the substances they administer were without accurate dosages and could be harmful to some organs of the system, including the liver and kidney.
Chike averred that the state government had provided all that was needed for the health and survival of both mother and child, urging them to access and utilise the primary health centres across the 23 local government areas for their health needs.
On her part, the state Health Educator, Dr Doris Nria said the week-long event was focused on children, pregnant and lactating mothers, and charged them to ensure that no child was left out in the routine integrated interventions of immunization, nutritional screening, Vitamin A in- take, ante-natal care, birth registration, among others.
Lady Godknows Ogbulu
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has called on Nigerians to reject silence in the face of extrajudicial killings and other abuses of human rights.
Soyinka stressed that accountability and civic courage remain essential to rebuilding public confidence in the nation’s institutions.
He made the call during the 28th Wole Soyinka Lecture held in Port Harcourt, last Friday as part of activities marking his 92nd birthday.
The lecture, themed “Reclaiming the Nigerian State through Accountability, Justice and Civic Courage,” drew participants from different sectors of society.
The renowned playwright and human rights advocate said the country’s greatest tragedy was not only the unlawful killings carried out by state and non-state actors, but also the silence that often follows such incidents, allowing perpetrators to evade justice.
According to him, indifference by citizens to abuses of power and violations of fundamental human rights has contributed to the persistence of extrajudicial killings and other forms of injustice across the country.
Soyinka said he dedicated this year’s lecture to victims of unlawful killings, noting that the event was intended to honour individuals who had lost their lives as a result of failures within the justice system and society’s inability to protect the sanctity of human life.
He stressed that the lecture was dedicated to what he described as the basic unit of every society – the human being, and urged Nigerians to place greater value on human dignity irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social status.
The Nobel Laureate recalled several incidents of violence, including the fatal shooting and killing of a young man in Ugheli in Delta State by a police officer, and the mob killing of Deborah Yakubu in Sokoto State sometime ago, lamenting that many of those responsible are yet to face justice.
He expressed concern that some perpetrators of violent crimes had openly admitted their actions without fear of prosecution, describing such situations as evidence of serious failures within the nation’s justice system.
Soyinka maintained that when justice is delayed or denied, public confidence in state institutions continues to erode, thereby encouraging further violations of human rights.
Responding to critics who accuse him of promoting religious or ethnic divisions whenever he spoke on such issues, Soyinka dismissed the allegations and pointed out that his advocacy has always centred on the protection of human life and the rule of law.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and continue demanding justice in cases of alleged extrajudicial killings, including the recent shooting of a young man by a police officer, stressing that every life deserves equal protection under the law.
The literary icon also recalled an earlier pledge by a past incoming president to make public the files relating to unresolved assassinations and extrajudicial killings, questioning the status of the promised investigations.
He challenged citizens to continue asking questions about unresolved cases, insisting that justice, accountability and respect for human dignity are indispensable to building a peaceful, democratic and inclusive Nigerian society.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has clarified that there was no fire at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, contrary to its earlier advisory.
Earlier yesterday, FAAN had announced that a fire incident had occurred at Terminal 2 of the nation’s busiest airport, and assured that its Aerodrome Rescue and Firefighting Service had been deployed to contain the situation.
There were also reports that activities were briefly disrupted at the airport yesterday after smoke was seen inside parts of the terminal.
Videos circulating online showed passengers kept standing outside the terminal while firefighters responded to the incident.
However, in an update issued less than two hours later by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, and posted on FAAN’s official X handle, the authority said preliminary findings showed that the smoke seen at the terminal was caused by the discharge of the facility’s FM-200 fire suppression system.
“Further to our earlier advisory regarding the incident at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to provide the following update,” the statement read.
“Preliminary findings indicate that there was no fire at the terminal. The smoke observed within the affected area resulted from the discharge of the terminal’s FM-200 fire suppression system. The reason for the activation of the fire suppression system is currently being investigated,” FAAN stated.
The authority said normal operations had resumed at the terminal while investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the incident.
“Normal operations have since resumed at the terminal, while detailed investigations are ongoing to determine the exact cause of the incident,” the statement added.
The authority thanked passengers, airlines, airport users and other stakeholders for their understanding and cooperation.
FAAN appreciated the understanding and cooperation of passengers, airlines, airport users and all stakeholders, and reiterated its commitment to the safety and security of all airport operations.