A professor from the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Tamarat Runsewe-Abiodun, on Tuesday revealed that achieving child health-related Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 in Nigeria remains a distant goal.
The PUNCH reports that she said the country currently has the second-highest under-five mortality rate globally, with 107 deaths per 1,000 live births, closely following Niger Republic, which has 117 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Runsewe-Abiodun further explained that the ongoing mass exodus of Nigerian health workers to Europe in search of better opportunities has worsened the crisis in the health sector.
She noted that this situation has left just four doctors available to attend to every 10,000 Nigerians, a stark contrast to the World Health Organisation standard of one doctor per 600 people.
The Professor of Nutrition and Community Paediatrics stated that the child-related SDGs aim to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under five by 2030.
Specific targets include reducing newborn mortality to 12 per 1,000 live births and under-five mortality to 25 per 1,000 live births globally.
While delivering the 121st inaugural lecture of Olabisi Onabanjo University at the OGD Lecture Theatre, Runsewe-Abiodun revealed that in 2022 alone, approximately five million children under five years of age died worldwide, with 57% of these deaths occurring in Africa.
She identified several challenges threatening the survival of children under five in Africa, including poverty, delayed access to medical care, lack of political will, teenage pregnancy and armed conflicts.
