A new global action plan, Every Newborn Action Plan, says investments in quality health care at birth will save the lives of three million babies and women each year.
This was contained in a statement signed by Rita Wallace of UNICEF in New York, United States of America and made availability to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Monday.
It stated that more than 800 leaders and public health experts would meet in Johannesburg, South Africa for two days to review new data and call for accelerated action to improve maternal, newborn and child health.
The statement said that Nigeria and 27 other countries must double their new financial, policy and private sector commitments to save newborn lives to meet the 2035 targets.
It said: “Investment in quality care at birth could save the lives of three million babies and women each year who die needlessly around the world.
“ENAP gives two specific targets for all countries to achieve by 2035, which are to reduce neonatal mortality rates to 10 or fewer newborn deaths per 1,000 live births.
“The second is to reduce stillbirth rates to 10 or fewer stillbirths per 1,000 total births.”
The statement stated that Nigeria ranked 18th with 3.2 for the acceleration factor needed to reach 2035 target.
The ranking is as follows – Somalia 10.1, Democratic Republic of Congo, 8.9, Angola, 7.0 ,Central African Republic 6.6 and Sierra Leone 6.6.
Others are Chad, 5.8, Congo, 4.9, Côte d’Ivoire, 4.8, Guinea-Bissau, 4.8, Pakistan, 4.7, Togo, 4.2, Comoros, 3.9, Mauritania, 3.8, and Swaziland, 3.8.
Afghanistan is 3.7, Djibouti, 3.3, Burundi, 3.2, Nigeria, 3.2, Papua New Guinea, 3.2, Equatorial Guinea, 3.1, Kenya, 2.6, Mali, 2.6, Ghana, 2.4, Haiti, 2.4, Sudan, 2.4, Gabon ,2.3, Guinea ,2.2, and South Sudan 2.2.
It noted that while maternal and child mortality rates had improved dramatically over the last two decades, newborns had missed out on this attention.
It said that each year globally, 2.9 million newborns (first four weeks) died and that there were additional 2.6 million stillbirths (last three months of pregnancy).
The statement stated that newborn deaths now accounted for 44 per cent of all under-five deaths worldwide.
“The day of birth is the time of greatest risk of death and disability for babies and their mothers contributing to around half of the world’s 289,000 maternal deaths.”
It quoted Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, as saying: “The strong accountability mechanism under the Every Woman Every Child umbrella will ensure that resources and results are tracked when it comes to commitments to newborns.
“Let us do all we can to ensure a healthy start for all mothers and newborns. This will open the way for progress across the development agenda and around the world.”
It also quoted Prof. Joy Lawn of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as saying: “The 5.5 million newborn deaths and stillbirths occurring every year make up the single largest group of deaths in the unfinished agenda of the Millennium Development Goals for the health of women and children.
“Yet they are also our greatest opportunity for major impact in a short time frame.
“The Every Newborn action plan clearly lays out what needs to be done differently, and which effort and investments have the greatest impact, with a triple return on saving women, newborns and preventing stillbirths.”
Trending
- 2024 Hajj: Shettima, Sultan of Sokoto, others, set to grace NAHCON stakeholders’ summit
- Tinubu greets Minister of Information on birthday
- Workers’ Day: Sanwo-olu promises to pay new minimum wage
- Tinubu felicitates Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on birthday
- May Day: Gov. Adeleke flaunts achievements, says we are all comrades
- Lagos-Calabar Highway Project: FG begins compensation payment
- EFCC violated rights of Yahaya Bello’s children – Kogi Youths
- I won’t dash your hope on new minimum wage, Oyebanji assures Ekiti workers