Chioma Umeha

By Chioma Umeha Following rising cases of unplanned pregnancies among teenage girls, Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI) has called for the inclusion of sexuality education in school curriculum to help curb it. Modupe Oluwatayo and Tella Oladipopu, NURHI representatives, made the call in Lagos, noting that part of the factors responsible for unplanned pregnancy, especially among teenagers is early start of sexual activity coupled with lack of sexuality education in school curriculum. Another factor promoting the ugly trend according to the duo representatives of NURHI is sexual violence which could be rape or coercive sex. They said; “6.4 million pregnancies occur every year in Nigeria and for every four, one is unplanned, adding, “more than one- third pregnancies are unintended and one in five end up in abortion. Reasons women resort to abortion is that they are single. “31 per cent of adolescent who are between 15 and 19 years cited be

By Chioma Umeha In line with the 2001 Abuja declaration, a non-governmental initiative, Save The Children International (SCI) has called on the federal government to fulfil its pledge of 15 per cent health budget towards improving the lives of citizens, especially, that of women and children. Speaking to participants in Lagos during his presentation tagged; “Existing Global, Maternal Newborn and Child Health and commitment by the government of Nigeria”, Mr. Ayo Adebusoye, the Co- Chairman, Lagos State Accountability Mechanism on Maternal and Newborn Child Health, said in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, goal three, the federal government should fulfil its pledge. Adebusoye said, “To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) three, the federal government should fulfil its commitment of 15 per cent of the annual budget to the health sector which currently is 5.6 percent.” He said SDGs number three which promotes well-being for al

The birth of Kehinde Yusuf, an eight-year-old boy with hydrocephalus ailment to the family of Mr. and Mrs. Isiaka Yusuf on September 19, 2009 was celebrated with pomp and pageantry. He was born a normal child like his twin brother, but a sickness that took Kehinde Yusuf to the hospital where he was infused with drips via his head, saw him coming down with a swollen head. Visibly distressed, his father has been moving from one hospital to the other seeking for his son’s full recovery sent a SOS message through INDEPENDENT to Nigerians for financial assistance. He narrates his ordeal: “I am Isiaka Yusuf, 52, a recharge card seller while my wife is an auxiliary nurse. My eight-year-old child, Kehinde Abdul-Raheem Yusuf has been receiving treatment at the University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan since June 2011 for hydrocephalus ailment. “He and his twin brother, Taiwo, were born normal but six months after being born on September 19, 2009 at Iseyin General Ho

By Chioma Umeha To reduce the growing burden of water-borne diseases, infant deaths among other socio-economic crisis, especially in the Niger Delta region, experts are concerned about access to potable water. Specifically, the United Nations Children Fund has said that lack of access to potable water increases conflicts and agitation; reduces good hygiene and productivity. In view of this, the UN interventionist agency in partnership with the European Union (EU) is deploying environmentally-friendly technology, resources and expertise to reduce and gradually eliminate water-related diseases killing children in various states in the Niger Delta. The motive is to encourage governments to expand the systems to enable more Nigerians have sustainable access to sanitation and safe water. Recently, Akwa Ibom State, where access to clean water seems a mirage, became the focus of the agencies. The Akwa Ibom State Government, UNICEF in collaboration with Federal

By Chioma Umeha Worried by dwindling donor funds for the elimination of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (eMTCT), experts have urged the Federal Government to boost funding, political commitment, health infrastructure and ensure adequate engagement of the private health sector to achieve the goal. According to them, lack of political commitment, and funding at State and LGA levels, weak health infrastructures as well as inadequate engagement of the private health sector are some challenges against elimination of new HIV cases in children. The experts spoke at the opening of a three-day communication strategic review workshop by Journalists Alliance for Prevention of Mother to Child transmission of HIV (JAPiN) in Calabar, Cross Rivers State, recently. Decrying the country’s dependence on foreign donors to eliminate mother to child transmission of HIV, one of the experts, Dr. Sunday Aboje, National Coordinator, National AIDS/STI Control Programme (NASCAP),

By Chioma Umeha “l am blessed with two children, after 19 years of fruitless marriage and   undergoing multiple IVF cycle failures. At that time my wife was close to 50 before we had our first children – a set of twins, comprising a boy and girl. Actually if you see my son, Seun, he looks like me. We are like identical brothers. By November, he will be eight.” These were the words of visibly elated Adejare Akiolu, a Quantity Surveyor, in Lagos, who told INDEPENDENT that he is now enjoying a new lease of marital life after his travails with infertility ended. Akinolu said; “I got married to my heartthrob, Folake, an Educationist, in 1997. We tried to complete our family for about two years before deciding to seek medical advice. We had no inkling of any challenge in achieving pregnancy like many other newly wedded.   We thought   all was well and believed that conception will normally take place. This was because my wife did not have any history suggestive of

Coca-Cola Company is set to launch a new programme tagged: “The Safe Birth Initiative” to support the Ministries of Health in Nigeria and Ivory Coast to tackle the high incidence of maternal and newborn mortalities. Stating this during a courtesy visit to Alassane Ouattara,   the President of the Republic of Ivory Coast, the Coca-Cola Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) Group President, Brian Smith, said the programme will focus on strengthening the capacity of maternity and neonatal units in selected public hospitals in the two countries. Smith said;“With US$20 million grant from Coca-Cola to Medshare International Inc., the US-based not-for-profit NGO will source essential equipment, kits and supplies worth about US$20 million to enable safe deliveries and post-delivery emergency care for both mothers and their newborns.” “The programme will also include the training of biomedical technicians and other appropriate hospital personnel by Medshare Internationa