The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has called on the Kano State government to invest more in the healthcare workforce of the rural dwellers, to guarantee communities having access to round-the-clock medical services. Chief of UNICEF Field Office in Kano, Rahama Farah, made the call yesterday at the flag-off of the 2025 1st Round Maternal and Child Health Week held at Birji Primary Health Centre, Madobi LGA.
Farah applauded Kano State for displaying commitment in health, nutrition, water; sanitation and hygiene (WASH) through consistent funding and service delivery.
According to him, “Kano State has continued to demonstrate exemplary leadership. But there is still a need to invest in expanding healthcare workforce capacity to enable round-the-clock service delivery in underserved rural communities.”
He added that with over 17 million people, including 3.5 million children under-five and around 900,000 pregnant women, Kano plays major role in improving child and maternal health in Nigeria.
The international body also added that about 51.9 percent of children in Kano are stunted, while over 10 percent are wasted or too thin for their height due to poor nutrition.
Meanwhile, he urged the state government to allocate more resources in 2025 budget for nutrition and health.
He said, “Conduct the second round of MNCH Week by December, procure enough deworming tablets for all children between 12–59 months and consider increasing the number of days for paid maternity leave to support exclusive breastfeeding”.
In its effort to support the Maternal, and Child Health Week, UNICEF disclosed it has made enough provision of Vitamin A supplements and multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS) to reach over 2.6 million children and about 500,000 pregnant women across the state.
He assured that UNICEF will continue to partner with the Kano State Government to improve the health and nutrition of women and children across the state.
Representing the Governor, his Deputy, Comrade Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, said the health week will provide key services like child immunizations, Vitamin A supplements, mosquito nets for pregnant women, deworming of children, antenatal care, and birth registration in all 44 local government areas.
He also announced the commencement of seasonal malaria chemotherapy and distribution of insecticide-treated nets, supported by ₦140 million allocated by the state government for warehousing the nets.
Gwarzo concluded, “The state is giving out 6,000 delivery packs and 500 caesarean section kits to health centers to help ensure safe childbirth. We are also providing 25,000 to 30,000 doses of antenatal care drugs every month to protect pregnant women from anemia and malaria.”
