DESK OFFICERS

  Femi Amele

  Kayode Iyalla

  Akin Jimoh

HOME || 

 

 

Journalists reacts to the state of malnutrition in maternal, newborn and child health at October Media Forum

NUTRITION AS A FACTOR IN REDUCING MATERNAL, NEWBORN AND CHILD MORTALITY IN NIGERIA

 

  • Low Birth Weight (LBW) is a huge  contributory factor to the high mortality rate in Maternal, Newborn Child Health

  • ...Vivienne Irikefe, Sliverbird Television

 

  • Intake of cost effective nutritious foods will prevent unnecessary death of mothers and newborn

  • ... Tunbosun Ogundare, Champion Newspapers

 

  • Positive increase in  my knowledge and understanding of nutrition

  • ...Thomas Funmilayo C.

 

  • Educative and informative..News

  • ...Edith Effiong, Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

  •  

  • It gave staggering statistics of how much newborns are suffering from ignorance of their mothers and society, it also brought to the fore the importance of the adolescent mother

  • ...Adebayo Olusola Bukola, Punch Nigeria Newspaper

 

  • It is very resourceful

  • ...Awunor Okechukwu Anthony, National Mirror

  •  

  • It serves as an interface for the cross- fertilization of ideas between key stakeholders

  • ...Yusuf Ibrahim A., The Nation Newspaper

 

  • The importance of nutrition in pregnant women, children (under five) and adult (females)

  • ...Rhoda Odekata Ogunseye, Ray Power fm

 

 

 

Journalists charged to promote maternal and infant mortality awareness

June 24, 2009

 

Development Communications Network (DEVCOMS) organized a one-day media forum for Journalist, titled “Reducing maternal and infant mortality: Strategies that work”. The forum convener, Akin Jimoh said that the gathering was necessary, bearing in mind the fact that the issue of maternal and infant mortality was alarming, despite the fact that efforts are being made to address this plight. He said this was the reason journalists needed to get sensitised on the issue of maternal and newborn mortality, thus equipping them to inform the people.

 

The first speaker Reverend Elijah Olu Fatile, Regional Director (South West) Planned Parenthood Federation Nigeria (PPFN) said in his presentation ‘Family Planning: Strategic step for reducing maternal & infant mortality in Nigeria’ some of the reasons why a number of growing families in Nigeria have not adopted family planning is due to poor male leadership involvement in family planning; low level of literacy of parenting mothers; and misconception of family planning methods amongst others. Olu Fatile stressed further that the chance of a woman dying from pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria is 1 in 13, while infant mortality rate in Nigeria is 110 per 1000live births and under 5 mortality rate in Nigeria is 188 per 1000 live births. He noted over one million Nigerian children will die before their 5th birthday this year.

 

In another vein, Dr. Kofoworola Odeyemi, a consultant Public Health Physician, and Senior Lecturer, Department of Community Health and Primary Care, College of Medicine, University of Lagos said that high maternal mortality rate was still prevalent because of some social and cultural factors such as illiteracy, low status of women, poverty, religion, taboos, harmful traditional practices and so on. She said woman experience complication of pregnancy, and that the immediate social cause of death is existence of “delay” in the management of complication. Odeyemi buttressed that lack of knowledge, household poverty, cultural taboos and practices, as well as

lack of women empowerment are some other reasons for maternal mortality.

 

 

DR. OLU FATILE

PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF NIGERIA

 

 

DR. KOFO ODEYEMI

 

CAMPAIGN AGAINST UNWANTED PREGNANCY

Economic Meltdown and Maternal Mortality

The above assertion is based on the fact that despite the alarming rate at which women die while trying to give life (that is during pregnancy, childbirth or 42 days after pregnancy), governments of the world still remain silent on the issue. Even when something seems to be done, it ends up being a policy without a political will. Today, it is estimated that 6.8 million pregnancies occur each year in Nigeria with about 63% ending in planned birth, 10% in mistimed or unwanted births, 16% in miscarriage and 11% in induced abortion amounting to 760,000 induced abortions occurring in Nigeria annually. While considering these facts on the one hand, on the other hand it is equally pertinent to avert our mind to the fact that 1/3 (one in three) of maternal deaths is caused by abortion and 25% (that is, 1 out 4 women in this category) die from abortion complications every year (Facts deduced from "Unsafe Abortion: The silent Killer" by The Campaign Against Unwanted Pregnancy).

Furthermore, the world Health Organisation (WHO) puts maternal mortality ratio at 1,100 to 100,000 life births while the Federal Ministry of Health puts it at 800 to 100,000 life births. However, some practitioners still posit that both figures are under estimated. Beyond the figures, the issue remains that women are dying in the process of giving life. Unfortunately, Nigeria, being the giant of Africa, remains a giant heavily hit by death which could have been avoided as she finds herself in a situation where in every one hour 6 women are lost to complications arising from pregnancy.

 

Group: DevComs