Jigawa’s Child Mortality Drops To 161 Per 1,000 From 213 – UNICEF
By: Ahmed Aminu, Dutse
UNICEF Country Director, Ms Christian Maundaute says there has been significant reduction in under-five mortality rate in Jigawa State from 213 in 2018 to 161 per 1,000 live births in 2024.
Maundaute made this known in Dutse at the winding down and hand over of GAVI PHC-MoU project to Jigawa state government.
She said the reduction as captured in the National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS), “highlighted the positive impact of various health interventions and partnerships in the state”.
Maundaute was represented by Dr. Shyam Sharan Pathak, Chief of Health, UNICEF Nigeria.
She explained that the three-year project executed by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), had contributed to the improvement in child health and survival in the state.
According to her, the key achievements of the project include the enrollment of 29,530 into the health insurance programme in six LGAs and through 65 Primay Health Care Centres, and the vaccination of 416,250, representing 70% adolescent girls in the state, against Human Papilloma Virus.
Other successes included the four-fold increase recovered in measles vaccination, five-fold Ante-natal Care coverage, and four-fold utilisation of skilled birth attendants.
“In the past three years, we have witnessed sustained investments as a result of the GAVI PHC-MOU in Jigawa state to strengthen routine immunization services through improved storage capacity for vaccines, procurement and installation of a working cold room and freezers, and Solar Direct Drive refrigerators and logistics support for vaccine distribution with three vehicles”.
The UNICEF country director added that 330 health workers were recruited and absorbed into government workforce, with additional 924 personnel recruited directly by the government.
“I appreciate the contribution of 879,250,000 million Naira as co-financing for the MoU programme by the Jigawa state government, with resultant 15.6% of state budget allocated to health, and the traditional and religious institutions towards ownership and strengthening of primary health care system”.
“UNICEF sincerely appreciates GAVI, the vaccine alliance, for their support to scale up PHC services to improve routine immunization coverage and deliver quality essential health services.”
She called for more investment and oversight to sustain and improve current results, retain health workers, maintain equipment, sustain mechanisms and operations of outreach services, and strengthen documentation and data for decision making.
In his speech, Jigawa State Governor Umar Namadi, pledged that the government will continue with the healthcare interventions contained in the MoU under the tripartite partnership with UNICEF, GAVI, and state government.
The governor, represented by his deputy, Eng. Aminu Usman, said the project tallied with the administration’s 12-Point Agenda, which include prioritising the health sector, including the transformation of primary health care centers at the grassroots.
The governor noted that the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2022, was to improve healthcare delivery and immunization coverage, and provide essential logistics and human resources for the health sector.
“The programme has contributed particularly in providing special health insurance cover for over 143 thousand beneficiaries in the 27 local governments of the state,” he said, and expressed government’s appreciation to UNICEF, and other development partners.
takes parts in the project also commended the healthcare delivery system team in the state for their hardworking.
