Under-Five Mortality: Paediatrician Advocates Community-oriented Training for Students

James Sowole in Abeokuta

A Professor of Nutrition and Community Paediatrics at the Ogun State owned Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Tamramat Runsewe-Abiodun, has advocated community-oriented training for medical students.

With this practice, the professor said medical students, would be more exposed to problems during training in the communities.

The university lecturer made the recommendation, while delivering the 121st Inaugural Lecture of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, held at OGD Lecture Theatre of the university.

The Inaugural Lecture was titled – “Nurturing the African Child In The Community: The Paediatrician’s Endless Oddysy?”.

She said that Nigeria has the second highest under-five mortality rate of 107 per 1000 live births following closely behind Niger Republic with 117 per 1000 births.

The professor said that achieving child health Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 in Nigeria remains a mirage unless something urgent is done to address causes.

According to the don, mass exodus of Nigeria’s health workers to Europe in search of greener pasture has continued to worsen the crisis in the health sector leaving four doctors to attend to 10,000 Nigerians as against World Health Organisation standard of one doctor to 600 people.

The professor said that the child-related SDGs aimed to end preventable death of newborn and under-five by 2030 with specific targets of reducing newborn mortality to as low as 12 per 1000 live births and under-five death to 25 per 1000 live births in every country of the world.

She revealed that in 2022 alone, the world lost about 5m under-five and 57% of these deaths occurred in Africa.

Runsewe-Abiodun listed challenges to survival of children of less than five years in Africa to include poverty, late prevention of cases for medical care, lack of political will, teenage pregnancy, conflict among others.

She added that another major obstacle to stemming the ugly tide of growing under-five mortality is the grossly inadequate medical personnel currently plaguing the country due to mass exodus of its health workers in search of greener pasture.

Runsewe-Abiodun explained that “In 2023 alone, a report from the Federal Ministry of Health revealed that 3,122 doctors exited the system with 2,134 of them relocating to Europe

“A recent study by the World Health Organisation revealed that for every 10,000 Nigerians, there are four doctors to treat them whereas the WHO recommendation is one doctor to 600 people”, she said

The Professor of Nutrition and Community Paediatrics emphasized: “Globally, unless urgent action is taken to end preventable newborn and child deaths, Nigeria, like many low-income and lower-middle-income will not meet the SDGs targets.

“About 35million children under age five will die before 2030. The majority of them coming from families in Sub-Sharan Africa and Southern Asia among other low-income countries”.

Runsewe-Abiodun has therefore urged government at all levels to prioritise efforts to ensure that every newborn and child rights to survive.

She said that government must take decisive action to arrest the mass exodus of health workers to ensure availability of adequate manpower to provide for the medical of its citizens.

The professor also urged government at all levels to improve on its funding for the health sector and ensure universal health coverage for its citizens to cut down on the growing under-five mortality rate.