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HEALTH
INTERACTIVE WITH DR AMINU MAGASHI Rising
Child Mortality Rate in It
was Dr Egbe Osifo , the manager , Human Development Group of World Bank
Institute( W.B.I ) , Washington D. C during an interactive session with
the staff of the Community Development Services Department of National
Youth Service Corps ( NYSC ) on
Monday , 6th December , 2004 at Abuja over the
impending partnership between W.B.I and NYSC on achieving the Millennium
Development Goals who told me that , the percentage coverage of
immunization in Nigeria is about 30 % , and that is not encouraging , I
could see her worries from that brief meeting and of course my concern
today on immunization coverage , is related to its implication on
the rising under five and infant mortality rates at an alarming rate. I
will come to that later. On
another development , The Punch Newspaper
in its editorial of Tuesday , November , 09 , 2004
entitled ‘ Rising Child Mortality Rate
reportedly mentioned that latest UNICEF report
revealed that more children are dying yearly from poor nutrition
and inadequate health care , it does no credit to the nation . UNICEF
was reported to have said that
, its current survey reveals that the under five mortality rates in the
country as of 1999 and 2004 are 168/1000 live birth and 217/1000 live
birth respectively. The
paper went ahead to say that it is heart rending that more children die
now when compared to the under five mortality rate as of independence
period , 1960 which is 207/1000 live birth . To anybody in his
right senses , that revelation was shocking and a food for thought for
development workers and policy makers to sit down and critically
appraise the factors that led to the rising of the mortality rate beyond
how it was at independence . Is
it that all the efforts stakeholders are making is going down the drain
with out any impact and success? Even a cursory observer will accept the
fact that children in Let
us look at the issues surrounding the rising mortality rate , one will
accept the fact that , population is playing a key role , if one
compares the population of the country during independence and now , it
has rise exponentially and also migration to urban towns for greener
posture has worsen environmental situation . It led to a lot of
environmental hazards, improper sanitary habits, congestion and air
pollution , contaminated gutters and refuse dumps all over the areas.
These factors are contributory to the
spread of a lot of
diseases such as Malaria, Cholera and Diarrheal diseases, Respiratory
Tract Infections and all these can lead to Malnutrition. These
problems couple with inept regimes and
attitudinal problems of leaders and policy makers lead to collapse of
public health sector without the basis emergency facilities , drugs and
equipment to check mate paediatric emergency problems and of course lack
of manpower in the hospitals especially at the primary health care units
worsen the situation , the more . On the 30 % immunization coverage in
Nigeria, keen followers of Polio Eradication Programmes vis-à-vis the
routine immunization, would agree with me that, the approach and the
manner at which those shouldered with the responsibility of the
programme both on the part of government and development partners, are
faulty and the programme is not
being properly handled
and that is more or less the reason of having very low percentage
coverage of immunization. While
the implementers of Polio Eradication are aggressively pushing the
programme beyond the sensibilities and comprehension of the common man,
side by side with that, one hardly find all the vaccines for routine
immunization in the hospitals. At times, no allocation, or inadequate or
the storage facilities are poor or condemned. .Campaigning for
Polio Eradication only , has
led to a lot of suspicion and boycott
from the populace , because while many witness their children
dying of Measles , Meningitis and Cholera , all preventable
and with very little done to prevent such by the government , and
their international partners , yet they are being preached every day to
allow their children to be vaccinated against Polio .I believe the
implementers of Immunization in Nigeria , will be better off if they
sit down and re-strategies , if at all they want the immunization
coverage to rise to appreciable level . Another
problem which contributed a lot in worsening the plight of children, is
the emergence of HIV/AIDS. Latest statistics put the prevalence of HIV
in On another angle , Malaria is seen among the common diseases that is contributing to rising mortality rates , the approach to curtail that menace is to ensure effective environmental sanitation through clearing of bushes , getting rid of contaminated gutters and refuse dumps and having good drainage system . Other things, is to ensure provision of drugs for treatment of simple malaria and emergency method of reversing febrile convulsion, a very common complication among children . For now, on the part of the International partners and their local collaborators, they are more or less in love and passionate about discussing, distributing and socially marketing Insecticide Treated Mosquito Nets, as a means of reducing the burden of malaria by 50 % by 2010. Observing and implementing other three strategies and components of Roll Back Malaria by both local and international partners would be seen as beginning of wisdom in addressing the burden of malaria , not only in Nigeria , but Africa as a whole . In
essence , to reduce under-five and infant mortality rates in Nigeria go
beyond window dressing of the plight of children , but to look genuinely
at the factors leading to such rise with the aim of providing workable
and practical solutions that will be made available and accessible to
all Nigerian children. Dr
Magashi is the Executive Director, Community Health and Research
Initiative, |