Mortality remains one of the most pressing health challenges in Nigeria, with nearly 120,000 children under the age of five lost each year, many to preventable causes.
The Northeast, especially, bears a heavy burden, as high rates of under-five mortality, neonatal deaths, and infant mortality persist.
In response, UNICEF’s Bauchi Field Office Thursday organised a media dialogue in Jos, the Plateau capital, aimed at raising awareness and spurring action to address this critical issue in Bauchi, Gombe, and Taraba states.
The media engagement sought to bring the conversation to the forefront, focusing on the underlying causes of child mortality, including socio-economic conditions, healthcare access, and other critical factors affecting child survival in the region.
The dialogue also emphasised the importance of collaboration across government, public health organisations, and communities to combat these high mortality rates.
Speaking during the meeting, Communication Officer UNICEF, Opeyemi Olagunju, said UNICEF hoped that through the dialogue initiative, awareness would translate into decisive action and policy improvements to reduce child mortality and secure a healthier future for the region’s youngest generation.
Also speaking, Dr. Ruth Adah, a paediatrician consultant at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, pressed for increased media focus on child mortality rates in Nigeria’s North-east region.
She urged media organisations to take proactive steps in raising awareness, emphasising that sustained coverage could catalyse action to address and reduce preventable child deaths.
Dr. Adah stressed that effective media advocacy could shine a light on factors driving high child mortality, such as malnutrition, inadequate healthcare access, and the lingering impacts of regional insecurity.