UNICEF and the Kaduna State government have commenced the implementation of the Global Affairs Canada Initiative to improve the health and nutrition status of women, adolescents and children in the state.

Fatima Cheshi, Health Specialist, UNICEF Abuja Office, disclosed this at the opening of a two-day state engagement meeting on Tuesday in Kaduna,

UNICEF received a CA$15 million grant from Global Affairs Canada to improve maternal and child health in the Kebbi, Kaduna, and Bauchi states.

According to her, the five-year grant aims to enhance government institutions and community systems’ capacities to deliver sexual and reproductive health services.

She said the funding was also aimed to improve the capacities of government institutions at all levels to deliver on sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Ms Cheshi added that the grant targeted the adolescent population, women of childbearing age, and children under five in the three states.

The health specialist also explained that the grant would support training and capacity building for health workers.

It will also involve the procurement of commodities for maternal, newborn and child health, data collection and the implementation of interventions at facility and community levels.

According to her, the initiative seeks to address the neglect of adolescent health in maternal care, particularly in Northern Nigeria.

The health specialist said the grant aligned with Nigeria’s Sector Wide Approach Programming (SWAP), which focuses on improving maternal, newborn, and child health outcomes.

Earlier, Aisha Abubakar, permanent secretary of the Kaduna State Ministry of Health, said Nigeria was often called a “country of the young,” with 46 per cent of the population, aged less than 15 years.

She added that there were 40 million females within the reproductive age bracket of 15 to 49 years.

Ms Abubakar said the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) reported that 19 per cent of girls aged 15 to 19 years were either pregnant or had already given birth at the time of the survey.

She lamented that early childbirth was often a direct result of child marriage, closely linked to early school dropout, early sexual activity, high lifetime fertility and low contraceptive use.

The permanent secretary said Nigeria, which placed 130th out of 146 countries in the World Economic Forum’s global gender gap index for 2023, highlighted the ongoing gender inequalities.

She said Kaduna State recorded a maternal mortality ratio that exceeded the national average at over 800 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to the national estimate of 512 deaths per 100,000 live births.

“Our adolescent pregnancy rate is the second highest in the country at 29.9 per cent, beyond the negative social impacts, such as school dropouts and poor future employment prospects,” she said.

She added that the state government had rolled out the Maternal and Newborn Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII) with UNICEF and the Federal Ministry of Health support to improve maternal and child health outcomes.

Ms Abubakar commended the Canadian government’s grant through UNICEF for maternal and child health while appreciating the fund’s technical assistance in healthcare delivery.

(NAN)