UN Children's Fund vaccinated Nigerian children

The UN Children's Fund has vaccinated almost half of the children in Nigeria as part of that country's first ever National Health Week.

The mass immunisation of 30m children took place between 1-8 August and included a package of other high-impact, low-cost child survival interventions. Apart from immunisations such as for polio, children received deworming medicine and insecticide treated mosquito nets. At the same time, mothers were counselled on key household practices like breast-feeding and basic hygiene.

“Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with 149m people, including 75m children,” says UNICEF’s New York-based Executive Director, Ann M. Veneman.

“Sadly, more children die in Nigeria than any other country in Africa, largely from preventable diseases. Child Health Weeks have proven to be a highly effective strategy to save lives and prevent illness.”

Ms Veneman says Malaria is the number one killer of children under the age of five in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, but the country is on track to achieve universal coverage of bed-nets by 2010.

Polio is also a problem, with Nigeria being one of the four remaining polio endemic countries in the world, accounting for 85 per cent of all cases in Africa. UNICEF has allocated over $5 million to help educate people in the country about the importance of polio immunizations.

UNICEF ran the National Child Health Week in co-operation with the Nigerian Government, and plans to hold it twice a year in future.

Ms Veneman says despite being a resource-rich country, over half of Nigeria’s population lives in poverty. The country also faces vast regional disparities in human development with more progress being made in the south than in the north. Nutritional insecurity is also a serious concern.

“Malnutrition is a silent emergency in Nigeria. Among children under age five, 29 percent are underweight. Nearly three million children are suffering from chronic malnutrition and more than one million from stunting. This is simply unacceptable.”

David Youngmeyer
Communications Manager
UNICEF NZ (UN Children's Fund)
Tel: +64 4 815 9387
Mobile: +64 21 851 263
Fax: +64 4 496 9613
PO Box 10459
Wellington 6143
New Zealand
Email: david@unicef.org.nz
Web: www.unicef.org.nz

ENDS

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