By Franca Ofili
Port Harcourt – The UNICEF Planning and Research Specialist, Maureen Zubie-Okolo, has called for more investments in childhood mortality reduction programmes in rural areas through Primary Health Care (PHC).
Zubie-Okolo said this in an interview in Port-Harcourt on Friday at a Media Dialogue for Editors and Reporters on Data-Driven Reporting and Dissemination of the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) Result.
According to the survey, the Information on Infant and Child mortality is relevant to demographic assessment of a country’s population and is an important indicator of the country’s socioeconomic development and quality of life.
It could also help identify children who might be at higher risks of death and lead to strategies to reduce this risk.
“Childhood mortality can be improved by providing health services, ensuring that mother, children at the rural areas can assess primary health care,” it added.
Zubie-Okolo, said the health policies should be implemented as well as make the Primary Health Care functional.
“(This is) when children receive full care from conception, by the mother receiving antenatal care, delivery at health service and the child receiving full immunisation,” she said.
She advised communities to continue sensitisation and to ensure that they improved on health seeking behaviours.
(NAN)
