United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF has described the persistent rate of underfive child mortality deaths in Bauchi as worrisome and calls for urgent action to end the menace in the State.
Accordingly, the survey also indicated, in Bauchi State, under-five mortality has worsened in recent times with deaths rising from 41 per 1,000 live births in 2019 to 48 per 1,000 in 2023.
Dr. Oluseyi Olusunde, the Health Officer from UNICEF’s Bauchi Field Office, presented trends on child mortality in Bauchi, Gombe, and Taraba states, emphasizing the need to gear up collective effort to ensure children’s health and well-being are given proper attention.
He noted that 70 per cent of child mortality cases in Nigeria are preventable through straightforward measures such as breastfeeding, hand washing, immunisation, proper nutrition, and access to clean water, but due to low awareness such a vintage opportunity has not been adopted promptly.
Olusunde cited data showing that Nigeria accounts for 1 million of the 5 million global child deaths each year, for Bauchi, Gombe, and Taraba alone report mortality rates of 38, 45, and 37 children per 1,000 lives birth respectively, noting that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets to reduce this number to 17 per 1,000 by 2030.
A recent survey (NDHS 2023/2024) highlights that about 7 out 10 (around 70 per cent) of births in Bauchi and Taraba occur at home, and about 5 out of 10 deliveries (55.1 per cent) in Gombe, occur at home.
