UNICEF reiterates commitment to quality health care in Bauchi

Bauchi Field Office of UNICEF has reiterated its commitment to the provision of a conducive avenue that will promote good and quality health care delivery particularly for children under the age of five years.

While speaking at the unveiling of the Bauchi State Every Newborn Action Plan (BaSENAP) on Thursday, UNICEF Health Specialist, Dr Halima Abdu stated that the main objective of UNICEF is to see that infant morbidity and maternal mortality rates were reduced to the barest minimum in all of the seven states it is working.

Halima Abdu, who lamented the high rate of infant morbidity and maternal mortality in Bauchi state as contained in the 2018 Health Demographic Survey, said that the unveiling of the newborn action plan cannot have come at a more better time than now as it will go a long way in tackling the problem.

She then commended the State Ministry of Health and others that partnered with it in bringing out the action plan saying that the state was the first in the North to do it while many other states have followed appealing that the plan which is working document should not be dropped and locked up in the shelves.

While giving an analysis of the action plan, Dr Robinson Yusuf of the State Health Management Board explained that BaSENAP was developed by BaSENAC in order to disseminate information about child health to reduce infant morbidity and maternal mortality rate in the state.

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According to him: ”It is regrettable that the Nigerian Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS) 2016 – 2017 revealed that Bauchi state has a neonatal mortality rate of 41 per 1000 live births which surpassed the national average of 39 per 1000 just as it has child mortality rate of 87 per 1000 live births and Under-5 mortality of 161 per 1000 live births while the national average is 54 and 120 per 1000 respectively.”

He also stated that, even though there is paucity of data on stillbirths in the nation the as well as the state, the figures for Bauchi state are believed to be high which has made the burden of newborn deaths and stillbirths call for concern and urgent actions, which was the reason for the State’s response.

Robinson Yusuf then assured that will the unveiling of the action plan, an effort will be geared towards the achievement of the objective of BaSENAP as outlined by BaSENAC in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and other collaborating partners including EU-UNICEF stressing however that the major constraint will be adequate funding.

In his remark, Executive Chairman of Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (BASPHCDA), Dr Rilwanu Mohammed assured that his agency will play the front role in ensuring that the action plan was diligently and vigorously implemented.

Rilwanu Mohammed who was represented by the Director Health Services of the Agency commended UNICEF and other donor partners for investing in the State’s health sector.