…begins actions to reduce neonatal mortality rates
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Federal Government said, on Friday, that it’s deeply concerned with the number of neonatal deaths being recorded in Nigeria annually which of which were as a result of premature births.
The government was particularly concerned that chances that a preterm babies (premature births) born in Nigeria will survive is so small compared to similar condition in developed countries.
Dr. Stella Nwosu, Director of Family Health, Federal Ministry of Health, told journalists at a press conference in Abuja, on Friday, to commemorate the 2023 World Prematurity Day, with the theme “Small Actions, Big Impact: Skin-to-Skin care for every baby everywhere,” that Nigeria was loosing huge human resources to avoidable neonatal deaths.
She said: “History has taught us that some of the most gifted and skilled persons come as preterm. For example, Sir, Isaac Newton; Sir, Winston Churchill; and Albert Einstein, are typical example. They were all born premature. What a loss to the whole of humanity if these gifted minds were to have been born without the opportunity to survive, thrive and reach their full potential. The world would, probably, have been set back in the history of scientific advancement by a century.
“More disturbing is the silent realization that some of our own gifted minds may have been lost to such a strategy and we have no way of even knowing. So, as we commemorate this day, we must reflect and identify bottlenecks that hamper the delivery of optimum care to preterm babies and raise sufficient attention for necessary positive actions at all levels.”
Minister of Health, Prof. Ali Pate, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in Ministry, Daju Kachollom, said the commemorative day was an opportunity to raise global awareness on the plight of pretem babies, and in the cause of that, review what was being done correctly and otherwise.
“Undoubtedly, the burden of caring for preterm baby is a huge one which is typically accompanied by huge hospital costs, intense physical strains on the mother as well as intense emotional torture worsened by the uncertainties surrounding the prognosis of the child’s condition.”
He explained that preterm is referred to babies born alive before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy and it’s the leading cause of death among children under five years of age. “Available data on neonatal mortality is not encouraging, as the Nigeria Demographic Health Survey of (NDHS) of 2013 recorded neonatal mortality at 37 per 1,000 live births while 2018 NDHS put the figures at 39 per 1000 live births.
“The 2016/2017 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) reported neonatal mortality rate at 39 per 1000 live births. The 2021 MICS report showed a five-point drop in the neonatal mortality rate. This might represent a reassuring motivation for all newborn stakeholders, but we are quite far from our targets if we must meet the SDG target of 12 per 1000 live births.”
As part of efforts to reverse the neonatal indices, the Minister said the Ministry has articulated various interventions necessary for the reduction of neonatal mortality rates and these are outlined in the National Guidelines for Basic and Comprehensive Newborn Care.
“Other policy documents are the 2022 revised National Child Health Policy and the Action Plan on ‘Nigeria Every Newborn’ which was launched in 2016, and further revised 2023.”
The Minister, however, stated that preventing deaths and complications from preterm birth starts with an healthy pregnancy. “Key intervention such as healthy nutrition, early ultrasound to help determine gestational age and detect multiple pregnancies; and a minimum of four contacts with health professionals throughout pregnancy starting before 12 weeks to identify and manage risk factors, are key to preventing preterm birth.
“Evidences have shown that the Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is one of the key interventions that is specific to the care of baby. In addition to thermal protection, evidence shows that prolonged skin-to-skin contact supplied by the mother in human-incubator role allows early bonding, improved breastfeeding, sustained physical stimulation as well as reduced infection rates which are all necessary for the survival and even neuro-cognitive development of the baby.
“The issue of neonatal infections has consistently shown to be a leading cause of neonatal death in Nigeria largely arising from umbilical cord infections.”
The Minister, therefore, announced the launch of the revised version of the National Scale-up Strategy for Chlorhexidine in Nigeria. “It’s a four documents that would help to reduce newborn deaths particularly due to Preterm births. The documents are; The Nigerian Every Newborn Action Plan; The Chlorhexidine Scale-up Strategy; The Facilitators Guide for Comprehensive Newborn Care Course; and The Caffeine Citrate Market Survey.”