By; AMOS TAUNA, Kaduna
Despite efforts being made due to insecurity, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said addressing maternal mortality in most states in North Central of Nigeria is still challenging.
According to the organisation, many children in the region had not been routinely immunised due to persistent security challenges facing most of the states in the zone, thereby aggravating the problem of maternal mortality in the region.
Dr Asma’i Zeenat Kabir, the North-Central zonal coordinator of the WHO, made this known at the commemoration of the 2023 World Health Day and 75th year anniversary of the organisation held in Minna, the Niger State capital.
According to her, “Issues of reproductive, maternal and child-related problems were still a serious challenge facing most states in the North Central zone of the country and there is a need for more commitment to improving on the existing healthcare opportunities.”
The North-Central zonal coordinator of WHO explained that a lot of progress had been recorded in the seven decades in terms of protection of people from diseases and destruction, including the eradication of smallpox.
She added that lives of millions of children had been saved through childhood immunization, with a decline in maternal mortality, among others.
Earlier, the Niger State Commissioner for Health, Dr Mohammed Mohammed Makusidi, the Niger State Commissioner for Health stated that the state government had improved in the area of primary healthcare in the last eight years by building more and more conducive primary healthcare facilities to achieve service delivery to all.
