NAN Archive

Loading

NAN Archive

Tag week

Health

Children Week: FCTA provides free vitamin A supplementation to children

Children Week: FCTA provides free vitamin A supplement to children

By Kabir Muhammad
Vitamin
Abuja, Feb. 27, 2019 (NAN) The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) is providing free vitamin A supplementat for children between 6-59 months and de- worming of children within 12-59 months.

The Secretary, FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat (HHSS), Malam Adamu Bappah, said this while inaugurating second round of the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW) in the Territory on Wednesday in Abuja.

According to Bappah, within the 5-Day programme mothers are expected to access services offered by the secretariat, including routine immunisation against preventable diseases for children 0-11 months.

Other services are growth monitoring and promotion, food demonstration, nutrition screening of children 6-59 months, birth registration and focused ante natal care for pregnant women.

He said no fewer than 900,000 children in the Territory were set to enjoy free health facilities based services from the secretariat.

The MNCHW is a week set aside to deliver a package of key maternal, newborn and child survival interventions, aimed at reducing maternal, neonatal and child mortalities.

Bappah, represented by Director of Administration and Finance (DAF) of the Secretariat, Mr Musa Abdulraheem, said it was the second phase of the FCT Nov./Dec. 2018 MNHCW.

Bappah explained that emphasis had shifted from stand-alone vertical campaigns to a more integrated approach.

This, he said, exposed caregivers and children to key interventions that improved health status and enable them thrive through both the existing health system and outreach strategy.

“Every single day, Nigeria loses about 2,300 under-five children and 145 women of child bearing age. This makes the country the second largest contributor to the under-five and maternal mortalities in the world.

“I also want to use this opportunity to reiterate the urgency and need for all of us to promote this programme, for improvement in health, well-being and survival of women and children in FCT.

“I rely on everyone to take up the role of MNCHW ambassador to encourage and mobilise women, caregivers and children to health facilities closest to them to avail themselves the interventions provided during the week,’’ he stressed.

Earlier, the Acting Executive Secretary, FCT Primary Healthcare Development Board (PHCDB), Dr Ndaeyo Iwot, said personnel had already been deployed to nooks and crannies of the FCT for the exercise.

Iwot noted that the event was to take off earlier, but was rescheduled for this week, due to 2019 general elections, adding that the board hoped to perform more than it had done in the past. (NAN)
KM/GOM/MST
Edited by Gregory Mmaduakolam/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Maternal week: Oyo designates 1,404 health facilities

Maternal week: Oyo designates 1,404 health facilities

 NAN-H-7

By Modupe Seriboh

Healthcare

Ibadan, May 23, 2017 (NAN) The Oyo State Government says it has designated 1,404 facilities for the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week between May 29 and June 2 across the state.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Azeez Adeduntan, made this known in a statement in Ibadan on Tuesday.

Adeduntan said the maternal, newborn and child health week would be held at two health facility centres and two outreaches in each of the 351 wards throughout the state.

He said the government was hoping that about 1.5 million children would be administered with Vitamin A during the period.

Adeduntan said pregnant women, nursing mothers and children between 0 and 59 months were targeted for free medical services.

The medical services, according to him, will include Vitamin A, HIV Screening, malnutrition screening and provision of family planning commodities.

The commissioner said other benefits included birth registration, de-worming tablets for children of 12-59 months as well as provision of Malaria drugs for pregnant women.

“Pregnant women and nursing mothers are therefore reminded that this 5-day nutrition and health interventions is free.

“This is based on our consultations, we can reliably say that Ramadan does not prevent pregnant women from taking tetanus toxoid vaccines,” he said.

Adeduntan therefore said there should be no excuse for the women and children to be left out of the exercise. (NAN)

MAM/OMO/MST

Edited by Martins Odeh/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

African Vaccination Week: Stakeholders drum support for immunisation

African Vaccination Week: Stakeholders drum support for immunisation

NAN-H-67

Vaccination

By Lucy Nwachukwu Abuja, April 27, 2017 (NAN) Women Advocates for Vaccine Access (WAVA), an NGO, has called on the public to support immunisation programmes to make vaccines work effectively for people.

WAVA is a coalition of reputable women groups working together to advocate for better access to vaccines and raise a voice for sustainable immunisation financing in Nigeria.

Dr Chizoba Wonodi, the National Convener of WAVA, made the call for immunisation support in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

According to Wonodi, the advocates made the call at the 2017 African Vaccination Week (AVW) in Abuja.

She, however, urged everyone to become a vaccine advocate and contribute towards increased demand for vaccination awareness and sustainable vaccine financing in Nigeria.

The statement quoted Mrs Toyin Ojora-Saraki, Wife of Nigerian Senate President and Founder-President of Wellbeing Foundation Africa, as saying that “vaccines protect us from many deadly diseases’’.

“An example is the role of Meningitis vaccine in the reactive vaccination programme of government to control meningitis outbreak that affected more than 8,000 Nigerians in 23 States and killed over 700 persons.

Ojora-Saraki called on the public and government at all level to contribute their quota towards increased demand for vaccination and sustained funding of the immunisation programme.

She said this was important especially now that Nigeria had begun a gradual transition out of Gavi support.

She said: “As a champion of vaccines, I must emphasise the vital need for mothers and healthcare workers primarily midwives, to track, record and give immunisations to mothers and their newborns.

“This is the solution for vaccinations to work for everyone from birth to age.”

The statement added that Hajiya Kulchumi Hammanyero of the World Health Organisation said: “The 2017 AVW is emphasising on vaccines and we are focusing on the youth in a systematic way.

“Immunisation is one of the most powerful and cost-effective of all health interventions, after clean water.

“Achieving high immunisation coverage is important, as this reduces transmission, with a potential to protect the unvaccinated population in any community.’’

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that AVW is an annual event that provides an opportunity for countries and partners to strengthen their national immunisation programmes.

This is usually done through advocacy, communication and health education, greater service delivery and other activities.

The theme of this year’s AVW is: “Vaccines protect everyone, get vaccinated’’. (NAN)

LCN/MST

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola