The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has lamented the high level of maternal and child mortality rates in the Northeastern part of Nigeria.
Dr. Nuzhat Rafique, the Chief of Field Office, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bauchi, made the lamentation in an interview with newsmen during a 2-Day High Level Engagement with Bauchi State, Local Government Policy Makers and Legislators Toward Improving Sexual Reproductive Health, Maternal Newborn Child Healthcare and Nutrition.
Rafique however, assured that UNICEF would do everything possible to ensure that the menace is reduced drastically in all the UNICEF's intervention states including Bauchi.
“UNICEF works for the Mother, Newborn Children and tries to reduce Maternal Newborn Child mortality.
“In Nigeria and Northeast, we see that these mortality rates are very high and with support from the Canadian Government, we are doing this project which is about the reproductive and sexual reproductive health rights of adolescent girls.
“The project focuses on empowering and educating adolescent girls to become the healthy mothers of the future, which would automatically reduce maternal and child mortality in Bauchi state,” she said.
The UNICEF boss emphasized that all hands must be on the deck to ensure that a pregnant mother delivers in a safe environment with quality care to reduce the high level of maternal-child mortality in Bauchi state, hence the high level engagement with relevant stakeholders.
Rafique, who attributed poverty as one of the factors contributing to high maternal-child mortality in Bauchi, said that the issue has to be addressed, expressing readiness to partner with the state government in addressing the menace.
Also speaking, Dr. Rilwanu Mohammed the Executive Chairman, Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Board (BSPHDB) reiterated the commitment of the Board in partnering with UNICEF to address the root cause of the menace.
“We realized that it is important for the budget of the state government to be tailored towards maternal and child healthcare, so we invited the legislators, local government Chairmen and others to look at what was the problem and how to solve them,” he said.
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