In an effort to enhance the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, journalists, especially health reporters, have pledged to engage in enhanced advocacy to achieve the objectives of this critical period.
The commitment was made by journalists from Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba states, and Abuja at the end of a media dialogue on the first 1,000 days of a child’s life organized by UNICEF.
The aim of the dialogue was to ensure that children survive the most critical and challenging time of their lives.
The media dialogue took place at Emerald Hotel in Gombe, during which journalists pledged to embark on massive advocacy to enhance the survival of children during their first 1,000 days of life, a crucial period in their development.
Leading the commitment process, Alhassan Yahya, the National Vice President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), emphasized the critical role of the media in agenda-setting and enhancing the well-being of humanity through investigative journalism and human interest stories.
He assured that the NUJ would continue to partner with relevant stakeholders to address contemporary challenges and reduce them to the minimum.
Yahya also expressed gratitude to UNICEF for organizing the media dialogue, which he believed was a step in the right direction towards reducing child mortality during the first 1,000 days, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria.
Echoing the sentiments of the National Vice President, Umar Dankano, a former Chairman of the Adamawa State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, thanked UNICEF for its timely intervention in addressing the issues faced by women and children.
He stated that the dialogue had energized journalists to actively participate in advocacy and activities aimed at preserving lives during this critical period.
Dankano emphasized the urgency of the situation, highlighting the high mortality rate among children within the first 1,000 days and stressing the need for journalists to be part of the effort to reverse this trend.
Dankano pledged to share the knowledge gained from the dialogue with colleagues and other stakeholders in the health sector to achieve positive results. He promised to work towards reducing challenges faced during the first 1,000 days of life, such as low turnout of women for antenatal care, immunization, and incidences of malnutrition.
During the dialogue, various resource persons from academia, UNICEF, and primary healthcare development agencies highlighted the significant number of infant deaths that occur during the first 1,000 days due to factors such as low immunization rates, malnutrition, and a shortage of skilled healthcare personnel.
The journalists also conducted field visits to various health facilities in Gombe State to gather firsthand information about healthcare delivery processes related to pregnant women and children under 5 years of age.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Shukroh Adeyemi is a first-class graduate of the Department of English, Lagos State University (LASU), for the…
Full list: Names of ex-governors receiving pensions in 10th Senate
No fewer than 13 former governors still receive pension allowances as serving senators in the…
Mmesoma’s father apologises, begs JAMB, Nigerians, to pardon daughter
Mr Romanus Ejikeme, the father of Mmesoma Ejikeme, the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate who…
Asisat Oshoala shortlisted for 2023 Ballon d’Or award
Nigerian football star and Super Falcons forward, Asisat Oshoala, has been named as a nominee for the…
3 lessons from the ethnicization of JAMB controversy
OVER the last few days, Irecoiled in horror and disgust as the fairly straightforward case of JAMB exam result fraud by…
Rahinatu Ibrahim, popularly called Ganga, recalled with nostalgia when she first embarked on her journey to the…
and then