The Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria, FOMWAN, has called for an immediate increase in the national health budget.
The association, a member of the Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PACFaH) project, said that said the budget should not only be increased but should be released on time and used judiciously.
In its effort to bring healthcare awareness to the grassroots, Federation of Muslim Women's Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN), has partnered with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and religious leaders of the Muslim community on issues of child and family health.
The Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN), has disclosed that Kaduna State has the second highest rate of childhood death from Diarrhoea and Pneumonia related diseases.
The group stated this during a media dialogue with traditional rulers, religious leaders and faith based organizations held in Kaduna.
The Head of FOMWAN/PACFaH Project, Hajiya Farida Sada Yusuf said the diarrhoea rate in the state is 16 percent while pneumonia is 13 percent for children under 5 years.
The Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PACFAH) has called on the federal government to also consider eliminating childhood diseases such as Pneumonia and Diarrhoea.
This is because about 23 percent of infant mortality has been linked to the duo.
Over the last 15 years, the international community has made great strides in improving child health. But, with millions of children under the age of five dying each year from preventable and treatable diseases like diarrhea and pneumonia, the job is far from finished.
The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) under the Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PACFaH) Project in Nigeria has called on the federal government to mainstream the interventions along with other eradications programs such as malaria, tuberculosis, polio, nutrition, family planning, HIV/AIDS among others.
This is even as the the body is also calling on the federal government to increase the budgetary allocations for the health sector and also allocate more resources to reduce the increasing death rate of childhood pneumonia.
Governor Abiola Ajimobi has hinted that Oyo State Government is set to protect at least one million children below one year from being killed by pneumonia and meningitis.
The governor dropped this hint while speaking at the inauguration of the use of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) in the state.
Speaking through the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Azeez Adeduntan, at the Ibadan North Local Government headquarters, the government is to achieve this with the introduction of the new vaccine into the state’s immunisation schedule.
