YAWA: Nigeria, one of most dangerous places to be born —Report

WITH almost 90,000 death of newborn babies annually, Nigeria has been rated as the 12th highest country in the world where new born death is prevalent. A report by an international support group based in the United Kingdom, Save The Children, in its annual report, entitled: “State of the Worlds Mothers 2013 report,” Nigeria was identified as one of the most dangerous places to be born, as a result of the high index of babies who died on the day of their birth and within the first 28 days of life.

In the Sub-Saharan African region, Nigeria is noted as the most heavily burdened by first-day death, which is almost nine per cent of the global total of day-of-birth death and second largest share after India.

The index used the latest data on women’s health, children’s health, educational attainment, economic well-being and female political participation to rank 176 countries, to show where mothers and children fare best and where they face the greatest hardship.

The Country Manager, Save the Children, Susan Grant, at the Nigerian launch of the report in Lagos, on Tuesday, said the 14th edition of the publication, for the first time, drew attention to newborn babies, noting that “every year, three million babies die on their first day of life, mostly from preventable diseases.”

She noted that helping babies survive the first day, as well as the first week and first month of life represents the last great challenges if the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of reducing child mortality by two third by 2015 would be achieved.

Grant stated that the report was redirecting focus on saving newborn babies, especially on their day of birth, adding that Global Everyone Campaign is targeted towards creating awareness of the challenges and solutions to maternal, newborn and child survival.

Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, however, noted that the state government, although aware of the negative index, would not be distracted, but would continue to focus on reducing maternal mortality rate in the state.



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