UNICEF, Stakeholders Task Media Practitioners on  Child Mortality

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

Health reporters and other media practitioners across the country have been called upon to support the ongoing efforts of the government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to address the menace of child deaths in Nigeria, particularly North-east.

They are particularly urged to intensify efforts towards raising awareness on the urgency of ending child mortality, aimed at strengthening health system for the benefit of Nigerian children.

The Routine Immunisation Managers in Gombe, Bauchi and Taraba states made the request while participating in a panel discussion with journalists at a media dialogue on child mortality  in Jos Plateau state. Making the request, Programme Manager Gombe State Emergency Routine Immunisation Coordination Centre, Abdulkadir Mohammed Aliyu said parents, caregivers, health workers and every stakeholder will understand better, if journalists create more public awareness on the issues of child deaths and the various ways of addressing them.

 “I think as you can see from the data and what has also been going on in the health sector, there are a lot of things that are being done but are not visibly seen or are not so reported for people to understand that a lot is been invested in the health sector,” Aliyu said.

He pointed out that the citizens need to be more informed about the numerous health programs that are aimed at ending the menace of child deaths in Nigeria.

“Our people need to be more enlightened to understand the role of health care sector in ensuring that people are really healthy. So we want journalists to help us in the awareness creation campaign, especially at the local communities where people are almost attached to their Radios”, the programme manager further explained.

 He opined that if health programmes are constantly aired or publicised, people will get enlightened and embrace them, thereby addressing, neonatal, infant and under five child mortality.

A panelist  and Deputy Programme Manager, Taraba State Emergency Routine Immunisation Coordinating Centre, Rhoda E. Lodiya,  commended  UNICEF for helping to ensure that vaccines get to all the hard to reach areas of the state.

She added that all the 16 LGs of the state got adequate supply of vaccines and other health inputs from Gavi in collaboration with the UNICEF, including Solar Direct Devices (SDDs) to fight child killer diseases.

“Vaccines and Solar Direct Device have been made available across the 16 LGs of Taraba state. UNICEF also collaborated with the Gavi and provided motorcycles to all the wards of the state for health workers to convey vaccines to the service delivery areas, particularly hard-to-reach ones”, she said.

According to her, stipends are given to the trained health workers courtesy of UNICEF and Gavi to aid their operations, apart from the health workers, including Community Health Workers (CHEWs) engaged to support immunisation.

“Gavi, in collaboration with UNICEF is doing everything possible to ensure that every child is immunized. They have trained midwives and other health workers on how to ensure successful child delivery in their various health facilities in order to reduce child mortality”, she added.

Corroborating, Health expert with UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Dr. Oluseyi Olosunde stated that the 

Government of Taraba has decentralised vaccines storage system. 

“I remember in one of the states in the North-east, the central store was destroyed by fire and all the vaccines were wasted  but now in Taraba, they have decentralised the storage to address such a situation,” he said.

According to him, in Taraba state, the vaccines are not stored in the state capital alone, but scattered across Senatorial zones of the state.

“That is an effort that I know is going on, the structures have been completed, all the cold stores in the 16 LGs have been fully renovated. UNICEF in collaboration with Gavi has provided some SDDs to help in storing vaccines in remote areas where there are no electricity”, Dr. Olosunde stated.