FCTA launches health week to tackle malnutrition

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has planned the first round of Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Week(MNCHW) programme to expose caregivers and children to key interventions that improve health status and enables them to thrive through both the existing health system and outreach strategy.

Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Week is a special week set aside by the Federal Government of Nigeria twice every year (May/June and November/December) to deliver key interventions at the grassroots with focused awareness and service delivery on maternal, newborn, and child health care.

The Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe at the Media Briefing of the first round of 2024 Maternal, newborn and Child Health Health Week, explained that the first round of the MNCH Week will provide free health facilities-based services such as Vitamin A Supplementation for children 6-59months, Deworming of children 12-59months.

Fasawe who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Babagana Adam added routine immunisation against vaccine-preventable diseases for children 0-11 months, which is part of the MNCH Week.

“Growth Monitoring and Promotion, Food demonstration and Nutrition screening of children 6-59 months, Birth Registration, Family Planning services, Hand Washing demonstration, among others.

Fasawe also said the MNCH Week aims to tackle malnutrition prevalence as malnutrition prevalence amongst under-five children in the FCT like most Nigerian states is alarming.

“The rate of Stunting is 21.2%, Underweight 12.1%, and Wasting 3.0%. Wasting reflects Global Acute Malnutrition, which is still unacceptably high to meet up the WHO global target of lower than 5% for GAM by 2025 (NDHS 2018) Micronutrient malnutrition is also prevalent.”

“Evaluation by UNICEF in the last SMART survey published (2017) showed that Vitamin A coverage for FCT was 40.6% which is far below the minimum 90% target. Exclusive Breastfeeding Rate in FCT is 52% MICS 2017.

“Maternal mortality ratio in Nigeria is 512 deaths per 100,000 live births (NDHA, 2018), and 408 deaths per 100,000 LBs in FCT. These rates are unacceptably poor and health preventative measures need to be supported and promoted to be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.”

“Although considerable achievements have been made through MNCHW to reduce the current indices, we still need to do more to ensure that all eligible children are covered with interventions that will improve their nutritional status.”