Fidson Advocates Better Health Care for Children

Mary Ekah
Worried about a current report by United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on child mortality and malnutrition in Nigeria, Fidson Healthcare Plc is demanding for better child health and nutrition, as part of its support for the global campaign against child mortality.

UNICEF’s recent report stated that every minute one child under the age of one dies in Nigeria while five women die every hour in childbirth. Many of these deaths are from preventable causes, such as pneumonia, malaria and diarrhoea in the case of children, and excessive bleeding and infection in the case of maternal deaths.

UNICEF also revealed that more than half of the children in five northern states in Nigeria suffer severe effects of malnutrition. It also stated that as a result of malnutrition, 58 per cent of children under five in these states suffer from stunting, meaning their physical and mental development have been impaired. An estimated 370,000 children with severe acute malnutrition in these states will require life-saving treatment this year. Without such treatment, some 70,000 of those children are likely to die, it reported.

Expressing concern about the worrisome statistics, General Manager, Sales and Marketing, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Mr. Ola Ijimakin demanded for the involvement of all stakeholders in addressing the issues of child health, mortality and malnutrition in Nigeria.

“There is the need to save the future of this country by paying serious attention to the health and wellbeing of our children as a matter of urgency. We cannot continue to fold our hands and watch our children suffer malnutrition or die of preventable diseases. The government, organisations, groups and even individuals at family level must play a role to help save a child,” he noted.

Ijimakin who acknowledged the efforts of the Nigerian Government through the Federal Ministry of Health’s Integrated Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (IMNCH) in making frantic efforts at addressing this concern, expressed hope that it will drastically reduce maternal, new born and under-five mortality in line with the 4th and 5th Millennium Development Goals targets. Ijimakin who noted that it cannot be left to the government alone, stressed that all have to play a part in addressing these problems.

The veteran pharmacist highlighted Fidson’s role in proffering quality healthcare solutions to several health problems affecting children in Nigeria with it various products, some of which include: Astymin, a daily nutritional supplement that contains all eight (8) essential amino acids and multivitamins that boost immunity, improve energy metabolism, accelerate physical and mental health as well as the overall growth of the child, there is also the TUXIL Range of Cough and Cold Preparations for children, which are uniquely formulated to provide very effective relief from cough, cold, fever and other related conditions.

Ijimakin further added that Fidson also plays a major role in educating parents on the healthcare needs of their families, particularly the children through various channels of communication available to the company and through its representatives across the country.