By ALEX ABUTU
In May, 500 youths from 37 countries converged in Abuja to dialogue with policy makers on issues militating against a smooth transition of young people into adults.
Among issues tackled at that meeting, which was attended by researchers and scientists, were reproductive health and growth processes.
Sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the conference, tagged ''Investing in young peoples' health and development,'' provided a platform for youths to express their opinions on their welfare and how best to maximise their potential.
According to Prof. Oladosu Ojengbede, the National Chairman of the Conference Steering Committee, the forum became necessary following findings that the youth were ''very vulnerable'' to issues plaguing the society today.
''What we are creating is a unique gathering of researchers and policy makers to freely share knowledge that will promote and prepare the youth for a new world,'' he said.
Ojengbede declared that the youth formed 40 per cent of the world population and ''cannot be neglected by any responsible government''.
Nigeria's First Lady, Hajia Turai Yar'adua, who shared Ojengbede's call for proper attention to the youth, challenged policy makers and leaders to ensure a ''very meaningful investment'' in young people.
''Without proper development of young people, society is doomed as there will be no future,'' she said.
''A youth who will effectively deliver on the future is the one that has been adequately prepared for it; one in whom the society has sufficiently invested and provided relevant opportunities to optimise potential.
''With over one billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 living today, the need to confront the challenges facing them in various areas of development -- health, education and employment -- has never been greater.''
In her remarks, Ms Elizabeth Lule, of the World Bank, said that the current global youth bulge provided an unprecedented opportunity to take advantage of the largest pool of children and youth in record history.
''The youth can be a positive force for change for the future,'' she observed.
But perhaps the most crucial aspect of the conference was when researchers and organisations presented their findings concerning the youth.
Reports from the World Health Organisation (WHO) raised an alarm over the growing number of youths hooked on tobacco.
In its paper presented by Dr Elizabeth Mason, Director, Department of Child and Adolescent Health and Development, WHO revealed that 150 million adolescents use tobacco.
According to the paper, 80 per cent of those youths started smoking before the age of 18.
''If the pattern of tobacco use today continues, a lifetime of tobacco use would result in the death of 250 million people alive today, most of them in developing countries,'' the organisation stated.
Besides tobacco, another major cause of death among young people is road traffic accidents.
The WHO director suggested a ban on adverts promoting tobacco usage, and also advocated high tariffs that would increase the prices of cigarettes.
Another paper, presented by Akinrinola Bankole, of the Guttmacher Institute, New York, acknowledged that today's youths are confronted with the risk of HIV and AIDS, as well as unplanned pregnancy.
To minimise the effect of such dangers, Bankole said that the young people must be supported and empowered to successfully confront the challenges of Sexually Transmitted Infections, especially HIV.
''Because of the unique dual protection it offers for sexually active people, the use of condom must be promoted among the young people,'' he suggested.
Bankole said that findings from years of research had shown that youths in the West African sub-region did not use the condom satisfactorily.
''Education, especially practical education, is a major determinant of knowledge of correct condom use and must be taught,'' he said.
Another study, presented by Ann Moore from the same institute, showed a prevalence of exchange of money and gift for sex among unmarried adolescents in Africa.
The study thus blamed promiscuity in the African region on poverty and particularly cited another research conducted in four African countries.
''The research by Nyovani Madise of the University of Southampton, UK, said that poverty appeared to influence early sexual debut, especially among females.
''That study also showed that the poor were less likely to use condom, which means that poverty, by influencing sexual behaviour, could influence the transmission of HIV infection,'' the study stated.
Giving credence to youths' claims that they had suffered neglect over the years, Mrs Saudatu Sani, the Chairman of Nigeria's House of Representatives Committee on MDGs, said that government had not done enough to improve the youths' fortune.
She, however, blamed the executive arm of government, noting that the legislature had always done its part by passing laws to protect the rights to education, shelter and equal opportunities.
''As legislators, we have always done our part by passing these laws and appropriating monies for their pursuit.
''But we are always surprised that such appropriations as contained in the budget are not implemented even when the National Assembly has passed them,'' she said.
To force government to listen to them, she advised the youth to ''be more active'' and monitor the implementation of the budget, especially in areas that affect them.
''You as youths should have a strong voice on issues that concern you, especially when appropriated resources to address your critical needs are not implemented,'' she said.
In his remarks, the Minority Leader of the Senate, Sen. Olorunnimbe Mamora, blamed the neglect of the youth on the communication gap between them and their leaders.
He called for more interactive fora that would provide leaders and the youth the opportunity to converge and discuss issues.
Prof. Uche Onwudiegwu, of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife-Ife, however, disagreed with Mamora that there was a communication gap.
''I think government has always deliberately left out the youth in all its programmes.''More than one million youths take the UME every year which has provision for only 200,000, but no one cares what happens to the rest 800,000 who cannot make it to the universities,'' he said.
He said that the continued approval of private universities charging outrageous fees was another pointer to the fact that government was not interested in what happened to the youth.
For Master Hassan Mohammed, a youth, the government is paying lip-service to issues affecting them.''We are fondly called the leaders of tomorrow but no one prepares for that tomorrow; today most of us are out of school for reasons beyond us, while many others are roaming the streets.''
Muhammad called on government to plan ahead if it was really sincere about positioning them to take over the reins of power. At the end, the conference called for more attention to youth programmes by government, NGOs and donor agencies.
It suggested closer linkages between research programmes and policy development.
The participants also called for improved laws and policies as well as their prompt implementation, while advocating attention to adolescent girls who are among the most vulnerable of all the groups.
For many analysts, youths deserve special attention as they are always the victims of child marriage which impedes their right to education and robs them of every economic opportunity.
Such a marriage subjects the girl-child to sexual violence, they argue.
One such analyst, Dr Laura Laski, of the UN Fund for Population, calls for concerted efforts to check the trend as 100 million girls are anticipated to be married as children in the next 10 years.
''If we do not address this issue by getting the attention of governments through the UN, it will be difficult to achieve the MDGs as they affect the young people,'' she notes.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Checking Rising Child Mortality Profile in Nigeria
By Alex Abutu,
Last year's National Population and Housing Census put the country's population figure at 140 million.
The figure further confirms Nigeria as the most populous black nation in the world.
Development partners such as WHO and UNICEF say the country has one of the worst child mortality rates in Africa. According to the UN agencies, for every 1,000 live births in Nigeria, 194 die before they attain the age of five.
By this figure, the country ranks 14th globally with the highest child mortality rate. However, a 2005/2006 publication by the Federal Ministry of Health puts thechild mortality rate at 98 per 1,000 live births.
Comparatively, it says that Ghana and South Africa have 59 per cent and 53 per 1,000 live births respectively.
Nigeria is thus in the league of disaster-ridden countries, including Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire.
The government publication also says that Nigeria's life expectancy at birth is 43.3 years, while it is 56.7 years in Ghana and 49 years in South Africa. India and China, with populations greater than Nigeria's, have their mortality rates put at 85 per 1,000 and 31 per 1,000 respectively.
Considering Nigeria's West African neighbours, Benin Republic has 150 per 1,000; Togo, 139 per 1,000; Ghana, 122 per 1,000; and Niger 259 per 1,000.
But more worrisome is the fact that Nigeria's per capita expenditure on health is almost double that of Niger Republic. The fourth Millennium Development Goal prescribes a two-third reduction in under-five mortality rate in 15 years between 2000 and 2015.
It, therefore, implies that Nigeria must reduce its child mortality rate to less than 70 per 1,000 live births by 2015.
With seven years into the target year, the country is faced with the urgent need to fast-track activities to meet the goal.
But what are the factors responsible for the country's rising infant mortality profile? Experts met recently at a forum organised by the Nigerian Academy of Science to x-ray the situation.
Prof. William Ogala, of the Department of Paediatrics, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, says that though child mortality is a global problem, Africa bears the greatest brunt.
Ogala says there are 10.8 million global child deaths annually, with most of them being preventable.
According to him, global statistics on child mortality show that sub-SaharanAfrica accounts for 41 per cent, while South Asia has 34 per cent. The rest of the world, he says, accounts for 25 per cent.
Ogala says it will take Africa the next 70 years to reduce its under-five mortality by two-thirds, going by current efforts to address the problem.
For Dr Ndi Onuekwusi, a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, mismanagement of the nation's healthcare system is a major reason for the rising child mortality rate. ''The country's health care system is a monumental failure.
''The system has succeeded in creating unnecessary agencies which are drain-pipes, even as Nigerian children die from preventable and treatable diseases.''
Onuekwusi says the country's healthcare system lacks both input and output indicators. Besides, it lacks the database as well as a monitoring and evaluation mechanism to efficiently measure the impact of policies and programmes.
''An efficient health system is characterised by integrity which cannot be breached easily. ''It must have inter-connectivity, allowing for robust relationship with stakeholders, and give room for self-appraisal. ''But all this is lacking in Nigeria,'' he says.
Onuekwusi notes that the nation's health care system discountenances the contribution of experts and is devoid of community involvement.
He identifies other areas of inadequacy to include absence of aconducive environment and the lack of collaboration among agencies involved in various policies and programmes.
Prof. Theodore Okeahialam, of the Imo State University, Owerri, says that the rising child mortality profile is caused by the absence of social infrastructure and high level poverty.
He adds that it also lacks sustained environmental sanitation. ''We cannot reduce the number of children who die from malaria, diarrhoea and measles when they do not have access to potable water, clean environment and electricity,'' he argues.
A former Commissioner for Health in Lagos State, Dr Leke Pitan, agrees that the poor child mortality record is a cause for concern.
Pitan says that low birth weight and infections such as asphyxia, malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, HIV and HIV,measles and malnutrition are some factors responsible for the problem.
Mrs Yetunde Olumide, Professor of Medicine, University of Lagos, says that the infant mortality rate is unacceptable.
The time has come, she says, for the country to take a critical look at the funding pattern in order to reduce child mortality.
She calls for judicious use of funds. ''We cannot fold our hands and watch our children die from preventable infections.''
What, therefore, should be done to reduce child mortality rate in the country drastically?
Experts say that if every baby were exclusively breast-fed from birth, an estimated 1.5 million lives would be saved every year.
Pneumonia which kills some 500,000children can be prevented with vaccine, they note. Measles also can be prevented with vaccines at a cost of less than N50 per child.
The use of insecticide-treated bed nets, the experts say, is a vital strategy for controlling malaria.
Studies have shown that under-five mortality rate can be reduced by about 25 per cent to 30 per cent if all young children in malaria-prone areas are protected by treated bed nets.
Concerned citizens say that government's intervention programmes are not reaching enough children.
Experts, therefore, say that there is a compelling need to scale up such intervention programmes.
''All we hope to do at this conference is to find ways of scaling up the already known interventions for these conditions,'' says Okeahialam.
The experts suggest that governmentshould intensify its immunisation campaigns to cover at least 90 per cent of the country.
They also recommend that efforts be made to eradicate religious and traditional beliefs that discourage the use of vaccines.
The campaign on exclusive breast feeding and the use of insecticide-treated bed nets should equally bestepped up.
Government's intervention should have a specific budget for the control of all preventable diseases rather than wait on donor funding, the experts suggest.
They agree that the country's child mortality rate can be reduced if the right policies and programmes are put in place and religiously executed.
The diseases killing the children cannot only be treated but are also preventable, the experts reason.
Government should, therefore, articulate policies and programmes, and take informed decisions that can ensure that more children celebrate their fifth birthday. Such measures must be geared toward ensuring that Nigerian children grow up to adulthood.
Last year's National Population and Housing Census put the country's population figure at 140 million.
The figure further confirms Nigeria as the most populous black nation in the world.
Development partners such as WHO and UNICEF say the country has one of the worst child mortality rates in Africa. According to the UN agencies, for every 1,000 live births in Nigeria, 194 die before they attain the age of five.
By this figure, the country ranks 14th globally with the highest child mortality rate. However, a 2005/2006 publication by the Federal Ministry of Health puts thechild mortality rate at 98 per 1,000 live births.
Comparatively, it says that Ghana and South Africa have 59 per cent and 53 per 1,000 live births respectively.
Nigeria is thus in the league of disaster-ridden countries, including Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire.
The government publication also says that Nigeria's life expectancy at birth is 43.3 years, while it is 56.7 years in Ghana and 49 years in South Africa. India and China, with populations greater than Nigeria's, have their mortality rates put at 85 per 1,000 and 31 per 1,000 respectively.
Considering Nigeria's West African neighbours, Benin Republic has 150 per 1,000; Togo, 139 per 1,000; Ghana, 122 per 1,000; and Niger 259 per 1,000.
But more worrisome is the fact that Nigeria's per capita expenditure on health is almost double that of Niger Republic. The fourth Millennium Development Goal prescribes a two-third reduction in under-five mortality rate in 15 years between 2000 and 2015.
It, therefore, implies that Nigeria must reduce its child mortality rate to less than 70 per 1,000 live births by 2015.
With seven years into the target year, the country is faced with the urgent need to fast-track activities to meet the goal.
But what are the factors responsible for the country's rising infant mortality profile? Experts met recently at a forum organised by the Nigerian Academy of Science to x-ray the situation.
Prof. William Ogala, of the Department of Paediatrics, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, says that though child mortality is a global problem, Africa bears the greatest brunt.
Ogala says there are 10.8 million global child deaths annually, with most of them being preventable.
According to him, global statistics on child mortality show that sub-SaharanAfrica accounts for 41 per cent, while South Asia has 34 per cent. The rest of the world, he says, accounts for 25 per cent.
Ogala says it will take Africa the next 70 years to reduce its under-five mortality by two-thirds, going by current efforts to address the problem.
For Dr Ndi Onuekwusi, a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, mismanagement of the nation's healthcare system is a major reason for the rising child mortality rate. ''The country's health care system is a monumental failure.
''The system has succeeded in creating unnecessary agencies which are drain-pipes, even as Nigerian children die from preventable and treatable diseases.''
Onuekwusi says the country's healthcare system lacks both input and output indicators. Besides, it lacks the database as well as a monitoring and evaluation mechanism to efficiently measure the impact of policies and programmes.
''An efficient health system is characterised by integrity which cannot be breached easily. ''It must have inter-connectivity, allowing for robust relationship with stakeholders, and give room for self-appraisal. ''But all this is lacking in Nigeria,'' he says.
Onuekwusi notes that the nation's health care system discountenances the contribution of experts and is devoid of community involvement.
He identifies other areas of inadequacy to include absence of aconducive environment and the lack of collaboration among agencies involved in various policies and programmes.
Prof. Theodore Okeahialam, of the Imo State University, Owerri, says that the rising child mortality profile is caused by the absence of social infrastructure and high level poverty.
He adds that it also lacks sustained environmental sanitation. ''We cannot reduce the number of children who die from malaria, diarrhoea and measles when they do not have access to potable water, clean environment and electricity,'' he argues.
A former Commissioner for Health in Lagos State, Dr Leke Pitan, agrees that the poor child mortality record is a cause for concern.
Pitan says that low birth weight and infections such as asphyxia, malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, HIV and HIV,measles and malnutrition are some factors responsible for the problem.
Mrs Yetunde Olumide, Professor of Medicine, University of Lagos, says that the infant mortality rate is unacceptable.
The time has come, she says, for the country to take a critical look at the funding pattern in order to reduce child mortality.
She calls for judicious use of funds. ''We cannot fold our hands and watch our children die from preventable infections.''
What, therefore, should be done to reduce child mortality rate in the country drastically?
Experts say that if every baby were exclusively breast-fed from birth, an estimated 1.5 million lives would be saved every year.
Pneumonia which kills some 500,000children can be prevented with vaccine, they note. Measles also can be prevented with vaccines at a cost of less than N50 per child.
The use of insecticide-treated bed nets, the experts say, is a vital strategy for controlling malaria.
Studies have shown that under-five mortality rate can be reduced by about 25 per cent to 30 per cent if all young children in malaria-prone areas are protected by treated bed nets.
Concerned citizens say that government's intervention programmes are not reaching enough children.
Experts, therefore, say that there is a compelling need to scale up such intervention programmes.
''All we hope to do at this conference is to find ways of scaling up the already known interventions for these conditions,'' says Okeahialam.
The experts suggest that governmentshould intensify its immunisation campaigns to cover at least 90 per cent of the country.
They also recommend that efforts be made to eradicate religious and traditional beliefs that discourage the use of vaccines.
The campaign on exclusive breast feeding and the use of insecticide-treated bed nets should equally bestepped up.
Government's intervention should have a specific budget for the control of all preventable diseases rather than wait on donor funding, the experts suggest.
They agree that the country's child mortality rate can be reduced if the right policies and programmes are put in place and religiously executed.
The diseases killing the children cannot only be treated but are also preventable, the experts reason.
Government should, therefore, articulate policies and programmes, and take informed decisions that can ensure that more children celebrate their fifth birthday. Such measures must be geared toward ensuring that Nigerian children grow up to adulthood.
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