UNICEF calls for Massive Investment to Save Mothers, and Children in Adamawa.State.

The Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Bauchi, Dr. Nuzhat Rafique, has described the first 1,000 days of a child’s life as a critical window that requires urgent and sustained investment to ensure child survival and long-term productivity.
Dr. Rafique made this known during a media dialogue on the First 1,000 Days of Life held in Adamawa State.
She noted that NDHS indicates Nigeria remains one of the highest contributors to maternal and under-five mortality globally, with the highest under-five morbidity rate in West Africa.
According to her, the 1,000-day period begins from conception through pregnancy, continues through the first year of life, and extends until a child’s second birthday.
Dr Rafique said, the care a mother receives from conception determines the survival and future of the child, stressing that inadequate care during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, low birth weight, and other complications.
She described the level of malnutrition in the North-East Nigeria as devastating and shocking.
Dr. Rafique emphasized that the safest way to protect both mother and child is for pregnant women to attend full antenatal care (ANC) and ensure delivery in a health facility under skilled supervision.
The Chief of Field Office UNICEF Bauchi, urged state and local government authorities to make health facilities infection-free to prevent diseases during childbirth.
She expressed concern that over 60 percent of births in Nigeria still occur at home, a factor she described as a major contributor to maternal and child mortality.

Dr Rafique also called on mothers to adopt proper sanitation and hygiene practices, including maintaining clean environments and ending open defecation, to prevent diarrhea and other infections.

She highlighted that the highest risk of death for a child occurs within the first 24 hours and the first month of life.

Dr. Rafique outlined seven key stages critical to child survival to include antenatal care, hospital delivery, exclusive breastfeeding, complementary feeding, immunization, sanitation, and access to quality education.
In his remarks the General Manager of Adamawa State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), Mr. Esly Emmanuel, represented by Director of Quality Control Amin Williams, said collaboration with UNICEF has yielded significant results in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector in the state.