By FOLASADE AKPAN

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, says Nigeria continues to record about 850,000 preventable newborn and under-five deaths annually in spite of progress made in child survival efforts.

Pate said this in Abuja on Wednesday during the commemoration of the 2025 World Pneumonia and Prematurity Days.

He was represented by the Director of Health Promotion, Mr John Urakpa.

Pate said that although Nigeria had achieved a 45 per cent reduction in under-five mortality over the last two decades, the rate remained unacceptably high and required urgent, sustained intervention.

“Data from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) show that under-five mortality has declined from 201 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 110 in 2023.

“In spite of this modest progress, approximately 850,000 preventable newborn and under-five deaths occur each year.

“Nigeria is not yet on track to meet the SDG target of less than 25 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030,” he added.

Pate described pneumonia as the “forgotten killer” of children, saying that pneumonia and complications from prematurity continued to undermine national efforts to improve child survival.

He said about 100 million cases of childhood pneumonia occurred globally each year, causing more than 808,000 deaths, with Nigeria and 14 other countries accounting for about three-quarters of the global burden.

“The global community has mobilised strongly against malaria, polio, tuberculosis, and HIV, but childhood pneumonia has not received the attention it deserves,” Pate stated.

He noted that collaboration between the ministry, the Every Breath Counts Coalition, and the Paediatric Association of Nigeria had produced tangible results through the In-Patient Pneumonia Treatment Algorithm.

“This innovation has strengthened the capacity of secondary and tertiary health workers to manage severe pneumonia, reducing under-five mortality from 132 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2018 to 110 in 2024,” he said.

The minister, however, expressed concern over slow progress in reducing newborn deaths, which had only marginally declined from 42 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 41 in 2024.

“Each year, we lose about 280,000 newborns within the first 28 days of life due to prematurity and another 162,000 children to pneumonia,” he said, describing the losses as a heavy national burden.

Pate said the 2025 commemoration themes, “Give Preterm Babies a Strong Start for a Brighter Future” and “Child Survival: Focusing on Pneumonia’s Impact as the Leading Infectious Cause of Child Death,” highlighted urgent child health priorities.

He noted that both themes underscore the need for collective responsibility, renewed action, and stronger collaboration among governments, health workers, and partners to end preventable newborn and child deaths in Nigeria.

He said the event also marked the launch of two national documents, the Nigerian Child Survival Action Plan and the National Birth Defect Surveillance Guideline, to strengthen child health interventions and accelerate progress toward ending preventable deaths.

Pate explained that the Nigerian Child Survival Action Plan was developed through broad stakeholder consultation and provided a roadmap for reducing under-five mortality through investments in health, nutrition, education, and child protection.

“The plan adopts a holistic, multi-sectoral approach that recognises child survival goes beyond healthcare, integrating nutrition, education, and social protection to ensure every Nigerian child survives and thrives,” he said.

On the National Birth Defect Surveillance Guideline, the minister said it was Nigeria’s first standardised framework for data collection, early detection, and management of birth defects.

“It will establish a hospital-based sentinel surveillance system across 12 tertiary facilities nationwide to generate reliable data for research, policy, and intervention planning,” he added.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Ms. Daju Kachollom, represented by Dr Amina Mohammed, Director of the Child ’ealth Division, said the joint commemoration provided a platform to renew national commitment to child survival.

She said focus areas included strengthening primary healthcare, expanding access to oxygen therapy and Kangaroo Mother Care, and promoting early breastfeeding for improved newborn survival.

Dr Martin Dohlsten, Health Manager for Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and HIV at UNICEF Nigeria, reaffirmed the agency’s support for government efforts to combat pneumonia and prematurity, leading causes of child mortality.

“These challenges demand coordinated action and sustained advocacy.

“UNICEF will continue to work closely with the ministry and partners to strengthen interventions that protect every Nigerian child,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that World Pneumonia Day is observed every Nov. 12 to raise awareness and promote prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of pneumonia.

World Prematurity Day, marked every Nov. 17, focuses on challenges facing babies born before 37 weeks of gestation.

Both observances are commemorated in Nigeria to highlight the country’s high burden of neonatal and under-five deaths and to advance progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on child health. (NAN)