Infant Mortality Reduced By 26% In Jigawa – UNICEF

UNICEF has attested that infant and maternal mortality has reduced by 26 percent in Jigawa State due to the collaborative efforts and the government’s commitment to strengthening immunisation and improve access to effective public healthcare services in the state.

The Chief of Health, UNICEF Nigeria, Dr Shyam Sharan Pathak, revealed this at the closing and handing over ceremony of the GAVI-funded project which commenced in 2020 after signing an MoU with the Jigawa State government.

He noted that UNICEF, through the GAVI-funded project, has spent over N4 billion to straighten immunisation coverage and effective primary healthcare services in the state.
Shyam noted that the significant milestones achieved through this programme is a testament to solid partnership and commitment for every child, youth and mother in the state and across the country.

He commended the Jigawa State government for its sustainable commitment to funding public healthcare services and also the implementation of the project’s MOUs that help in saving lives and also serves as a model for sustainable improvement of public healthcare service delivery.

Dr Shyam, on behalf of UNICEF Nigeria’s country representative, Ms Cristian Munduate extended UNICEF’s appreciation to GAVI, the vaccine alliance, for their support to scale up primary healthcare (PHC) services to improve routine immunisation coverage and deliver quality essential health services.

He also called for more investments and oversight visits to improve and sustain current results, retain health workers, maintain equipment, sustain mechanisms and operations of outreach services, and strengthen documentation and data for decision making.

At the occasion held in Dutse Government House, the state commissioner for Health, Dr Abdullahi Kainuwa stated that, the area of collaboration with GAVI Project, included strengthening governance, leadership, supply chain, demand creation, human resources and data quality.

According to the commissioner, under the MOUs, 200 PHCs were renovated and upgraded, 29,530 less privileges enrolled in social insurance schemes across six local government areas and 12,000 volunteer health ambassadors (Jakadan Lafiya) were mobilised from across the 27 local government areas for data generation and health information.

Vehicles and solar-powered refrigerators were supplied to strengthen immunization. A special scheme for emergency transportation of pregnant women to hospitals was also introduced under which over 4,000 were transported and delivered with support of skilled birth attendants with zero record of life lost.

“As a result of this collaborated efforts, immunisation coverage improved from over 30 percent in 2017 to 90 percent in 2024; reduction in under-5 mortality rate from 213 to 161 per 1,000 live births between 2018 and 2023; data generation improved significantly as well as manpower development and the general public primary healthcare service delivery in the state,” the commissioner stated.

Jigawa State governor, Malam Umar Namadi, represented by his deputy, Engr Aminu Usman, thanked UNICEF, GAVI Project, WHO and other partners for their collaborative efforts that have strengthened public healthcare service delivery and saved many lives from unnecessary death in the state.