In 2019, Nigeria surpassed India to become the world’s leading country in deaths of children under five. Since then, the country has maintained its top spot among countries with poor child health outcomes.
Data shows that due to years of government neglect and underinvestment in health care, more children born in Nigeria are under five years old than children born in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian state experiencing a full-scale armed conflict. The chance of death is 152%.
According to data from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Nigeria’s under-five mortality rate is 110.8 per 1,000 live births.
This rate is worse than countries in turmoil such as Syria (22.3), Sudan (54.9), Iraq (24.5), Ukraine (8.2), Afghanistan (55.7) and Yemen (61.9).
Infants in particular are bearing the brunt of this medical crisis, as many do not live to see their first birthday.
Abuja student Hafsat Hassan is still haunted by the memory of his older brother, who died of malaria at the age of two.
“I still remember how my little brother died. He fell asleep and didn’t wake up. He was vomiting so we went to the hospital and they said it was malaria. He was prescribed “He took the medicine for two days, but he died," she said.
Hassan’s story is one of countless stories that reflect the harsh realities of Nigeria today.
Just recently, the Director-General of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Mui Aina, revealed that approximately 2,300 children under the age of five and 145 women still die every day in Nigeria.
These preventable deaths expose a national public health crisis sweeping across Nigeria and highlight the cost of underinvestment in Nigeria’s most vulnerable populations.
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Increase in the number of infants and maternal mortality
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Nigeria has less than 2.5 percent of the world’s population but accounts for 10 percent of the world’s infant, child and maternal mortality.
Analysis of the 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) and National Immunization Coverage (NICS) and the 2023 report by the Nigeria Economic Summit Group reveals that states such as Zamfara, Bauchi, Sokoto, Kebbi and Jigawa have the worst Health damage. Many of these states lack access to the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), exacerbating health challenges.
Sokoto has the highest under-five mortality rate and infant mortality rate, with 202 deaths per 1,000 live births and 104 deaths per 1,000 live births, respectively.
Other states with alarming mortality rates include Jigawa State (175, 95 per 1,000 live births) and Kebbi State (179, 95 per 1,000 live births). Rates are similarly high in Borno, Zamfara and Bauchi. Nationally, Nigeria had the third highest infant and child mortality rate in the world in 2021, with 111 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to a World Bank report.
Causes of infant and maternal mortality
The World Health Organization (WHO) considers neonatal diseases, malaria, diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, complications of preterm birth, and malnutrition to be the main causes of infant mortality in Nigeria.
Malnutrition alone contributes to 50% of child deaths. Additional factors include poor access to quality health care, lack of prenatal care, and limited child health services.
According to the WHO, maternal and child health is an important indicator of a government’s commitment to the overall well-being of a nation and the well-being of its people.
Ekanem Ekure, President of the Pediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN), said efforts to tackle the main causes of child mortality in Nigeria have significantly increased child survival rates compared to the 1990s.
However, with rising poverty levels, an unacceptably high proportion of Nigerian children are living in poverty, with many families experiencing hunger and poor living conditions, Ekure said.
She said pediatricians are increasingly noticing that severely malnourished patients are gradually returning to hospitals and that previously controlled infections, such as measles, diphtheria and cholera, are returning. I explained that there was.
“PAN does not ignore the economic hardships currently facing the country. The pattern of distribution of essential items such as relief items to families continues to prevent desired end consumers from getting groceries.” There is a need for a review to prevent the ‘middleman’ effect,” Ekure said in a speech to commemorate Nigeria’s 64th anniversary of independence. .
Many under-five deaths are caused by diseases that are easily treatable or preventable, but for many families, even basic medical care is difficult to access. In rural areas, where almost half of the population resides, health centers are ill-equipped, understaffed, and often too far away to provide timely intervention.
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Underinvestment is the problem
BusinessDay analysis shows that chronic underinvestment in the healthcare sector is contributing to conditions that perpetuate high infant and child mortality rates. States that lack access to and use of BHCPF for primary health care delivery have high maternal, infant and child mortality rates, low immunization coverage, and widespread malnutrition.
Global advocacy group ONE Campaign has identified Zamfara as the state with the worst access to healthcare in Nigeria, ranking the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as the best. The report also assessed BHCPF implementation, budget initiatives, under-five mortality rates, the status of public health facilities, and health human resources.
Immunization rates are also very low in many states. In Sokoto, 50.7 percent of children have never been vaccinated. Bauchi and Gombe are not far behind, with 35.3% and 34.4% of their children, respectively, categorized as “zero-vaccinated,” meaning those who have never received a vaccine. States such as Zamfara, Ondo, Ogun and Kano are also suffering from low vaccination coverage.
Due to low investment, health facilities lack basic amenities such as electricity, water, and proper sanitation, which has a significant impact on the quality of care.
According to data, out of 35,514 primary health care centers (PHCs) in the country, only 7,250 are functional and able to provide basic services.
Nigeria continues to occupy an enviable position on the global disease burden list, with children among the most vulnerable. For example, malaria is responsible for 36 percent of the country’s under-five mortality rate, but Nigeria is currently using WHO-approved malaria vaccines such as RTS,S (Mosquirix) and the more effective R21/Matrix M. has not been fully developed. Trials showed 77 percent effectiveness.
While other African countries such as Uganda, Burundi and Cameroon have begun rolling out these vaccines, Nigeria has lagged behind other countries in this life-saving intervention, leaving its youngest citizens to suffer the brunt of it. It has become.
light at the end of the tunnel
But it’s not all bad news for Nigeria.
“Nonetheless, PAN congratulates Nigeria and all its stakeholders on the successful eradication of wild poliovirus. We hope to see more vigor in tackling other killer vaccine-preventable diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhea.” PAN Chairman said.
“PAN is concerned about the problem of ‘zero dose’ children who have never been vaccinated. The current unacceptably low vaccination rate is likely to decline further in the coming months as a result of current socio-economic and security challenges, particularly in areas that have recently experienced natural disasters. ”
