Ibadan, Nov. 19, 2015 (NAN) United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday that providing quality reproductive health services and clean environment were pivotal to addressing many underlying causes of child mortality.
Ms Blessing Ejiofor, UNICEF Communications Officer, Media and External Relations, said this at the close of a three-day workshop on Mother, Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW) held in Ibadan.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop was organised by the international body in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Information.
The objective of the workshop is to educate stakeholders from eight states on developing key approaches to effectively deliver the communication activities for the MNCHW and measles campaign.
Ejiofor said that the MNCHW, a biannual event, was an avenue for women and children to access a lot of health facilities all at once.
“Every child, woman and newborn has the opportunity to access a lot of health facilities at a one-stop shop, but unfortunately, a lot of people don’t know about it and the benefits of the programme.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
“The media should lead in sensitising the communities using its various mediums such as advertorials, cartoons, features and other means,’’ she said.
While speaking against the backdrop of the Nov. 19 World Toilet Day, Miss Sanni Anibire, the Head of Sanitation, Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, Lagos State, said 49 million Nigerians defecate in the open.
Anibire said that sanitation and hygiene promotion as a strategy to improve maternal and child life could not be achieved without good environment and availability of potable water.
“Reports have revealed that about 49 million Nigerians still practise open defecation, making us one of the worst in the world.
“Sometimes, it is not poverty that makes people use the open for defecation, but the ignorance of its effect on health.
“It is therefore important to work with the media to sensitise the public on this anomaly,’’ she said.
According to Anibire, creating awareness on the dangers of open defecation is the responsibility of all, including the elite.
“We are all involved in this, one way or the other; we go to parties and travel by road where we sometimes don’t get toilet facilities and thereby settling for the obvious.
“Even if you don’t practise open defecation, you might one day, get infected by the activities of those that do,’’ she said.
NAN also reports that the programme had in attendance stakeholders from the Ministry of Information and health workers.
The Rural Water and Sanitation Agency, the academia and members of the media from Delta, Edo, Lagos, Osun, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti and Oyo states were also among the participants. (NAN)
