Gov Arch Namadi Sambo
free medical services to children below five years and
pregnant women in kaduna state
From SA on ICT, Kaduna
Nov 16,
2007
The first ever
health summit organized by the Northern Governors' Forum (NGF)
has heard that 110 million Nigerians are active malaria
patients and over N800 billion is spent annually for the
treatment of the disease.
Kaduna State
governor and chief host of the summit, Architect Namadi
Sambo said his administration had, in recognition of the
deplorable health situation in the state, started free
medical services to children below five yeas and pregnant
women and started a programme to rehabilitate its health
institutions.
All the
commissioners of health in the 19 northern states and
their directors attended the one-day summit as well as
officials of the federal ministry of health,
non-governmental and civil society organizations from the
northern states.
Reeling out the
health statistics at the summit at Arewa House, Kaduna
Monday was the Minister of State for Heath Architect
Gabriel Aduku who also disclosed that the country loses
N132 billion annually to man-hour due to absenting from
offices, farms, markets, schools and factories as well as
expenditure on subsidized malaria drugs.
The minister
said malaria was also responsible for high morbidity and
mortality in the country accounting for 11 per cent of
maternal mortality and 35 per cent of infant mortality.
Furthermore, he
said 74 per cent of Africa's population lives in areas
that are highly endemic to the disease and 19 per cent in
endemic prone areas with only seven per cent in low risk
or malaria free zone.
"AIDS is a
child's play compared to the deaths caused by malaria in
Africa," the minister declared, adding that most of the
deaths also occur in the northern part of the country.
The country
representative of the United Nations Children's Education
Fund (UNICEF) co-sponsors of the summit, Mr. Ayalew Abai
said as a development agency with mandate for children,
the Fund was deeply concerned about the unflattering
health statistics on children and women in Nigeria,
especially in the north.
He said every
year at least one million children born in Nigeria die
before their fifth birthday, with most of the deaths
occurring in the north.
"The number of
women who die due to pregnancy and related causes is also
alarmingly high, with a disproportionate percentage of the
maternal deaths occurring in the north," he added.
Niger State
governor and chairman of the summit, Dr Babangida Aliyu
said the time had come for collective action by all the 19
northern governors to reverse the alarming health
statistics in the north. He blamed past administrators in
the north for the health situation.
He said unlike
other northern summits in the past, this summit would come
out with a definite, practical and time-based plan of
action as well as a mechanism for monitoring the
implementation by each state "because if we cannot do
anything for our people God will ask what we have done
with the people's money".
 Governor
Arch Mohammed Namadi Sambo is a true democrat, whose approach to problems is
always humane and conciliatory he is a man of peace who patiently looked to
the future with courage and hope. His commitment in the direction of
transforming the state into a relatively better integrated and functional
polity is continuing with a mission to create a stable and
cohesive polity capable of securing effectively the interests of the various
communities and giving them the opportunity to develop and live in peace
with one another.
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