Samuel Itsede
The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Faisal Shuaib has given a preview into the nation’s dismal health statistics, revealing that while Nigeria accounts for just 2% of the global population but is responsible for 14% of global maternity death burden.
The Executive Director state this yesterday in Abuja at a media brief. Giving a breakdown of the primary health care situation in the country, he noted that in every eight Nigerian birth one dies before they attain their fifth birthday.
Still reeling out worrisome statistics, Dr Shuaib also stated that on a global scale about 10% of newborn deaths occur in Nigeria while the country loses about 2,300 children under the age of 5 and 145 women of childbearing age daily.
He, however, noted that since the assumption of office of his administration a lot has been done to reverse the ugly trend through the implementation of appropriate strategies.
He noted that on assumption of office in January 2017, President Muhammad Buhari specifically charged him with the task of reinvigorating and repositioning the agency and sanitizing the system. He said that in line with the presidential directive, the agency has initiated several innovative interventions to revamp the agency and reposition it to effectively deliver on its goals. He stated that these interventions cut across organizational strengthening, financial and programmatic reforms, observing that it has achieved varying degrees of success in implementing the initiatives it set out for itself.
Citing the case of polio, he said that in the last two and a half years cases of wild polio has not been reported in any part of the country as a result of the comprehensive strategies put in place by the agency to ensure that all eligible children all over the country are vaccinated.
Dr Shuaib, who also gave a breakdown of the agency’s report card in health care delivery, also said it has set a target of achieving at least 84 per cent vaccination coverage of the entire country by the year 2028.
