Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna has assured that his administration would tackle malnutrition and infant and maternal mortality in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, SDG.
Mr Sani gave the assurance on Monday when he received a delegation of the United Nations International Children Fund, UNICEF, at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna.
While lauding UNICEF for its various interventions in the state, the governor reiterated the state government’s commitment to partner with the organisation to overcome all identified challenges and save the lives of vulnerable indigenes, especially in rural communities.
According to him, UNICEF has played a tremendous role in eradicating maternal and child mortality rates, infectious diseases, and improving routine immunisation across the state.
“Kaduna State, under my leadership, recognises primary health care as key because accessible healthcare is very important.
“Recently, while deliberating on the budget, we were able to commit a lot of money into the provision of healthcare in our state, as only a healthy society can achieve sustainable development,” the governor was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his spokesman, Muhammad Lawal Shehu.
He stressed that the challenges of malnutrition in the state would soon be a thing of the past, noting that he would rely on the expertise of the deputy governor and SSG, who are both public health experts.
Commenting on the issue of out-of-school children, the governor said: “We have our data and statistics; if we do not eradicate poverty or reduce the level of poverty in our rural areas, we can never truly address the issue of out-of-school children because here in Kaduna, primary and secondary school education is free.”
Mr Sani also thanked the delegation for their condolences over the recent drone bomb attack at Tudun Biri Community, Igabi Local Government Area.
Speaking on behalf of UNICEF, the deputy representative of UNICEF Nigeria, Rownak Khan, stated that, “more than half of the children born in the state do not receive birth certificates, which hampers the process of immunisation.
She, therefore, expressed concern over the high rate of malnutrition among children, which, according to her, affects approximately 60% of the population.
Ms Khan, however, expressed optimism about the political will and assurances given by the state government to work closely with UNICEF in achieving its goals across all 23 local government areas of the state.
