In order to guarantee that communities have access to 24-hour medical care, the Kano State administration has been urged by the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to increase its investments in growing the healthcare staff, particularly in rural regions.
The call was made by Rahama Farah, the Chief of the UNICEF Field Office in Kano, at the 2025 First Round Maternal and Newborn Child Health Week kickoff on Tuesday at Birji Primary Health Centre, Madobi LGA.
Farah praised Kano State for its constant funding and service delivery, demonstrating a commitment to WASH (health, nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene).
“Kano State has consistently shown excellent leadership. To enable 24-hour service delivery in underprivileged rural communities, however, investments in increasing the capacity of the healthcare workforce are still required.
He clarified that Kano plays a significant role in enhancing mother and child health in Nigeria, which has a population of over 17 million, including 3.5 million children under five and about 900,000 pregnant women.
Holding two rounds of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW) is crucial, he continued, because it helps give children immunizations, deworming medication, vitamin A supplements, and malaria protection. Additionally, it provides numerous micronutrient supplements (MMS) to pregnant women in order to promote their health.
UNICEF also revealed 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.
Farah also urged the government to allocate more resources in 2025 for nutrition and health.
“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,” he said.
To support the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week, UNICEF said it has provided enough 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 added that UNICEF will continue to partner with the Kano State Government to improve the health and nutrition of women and children across the state.
On behalf of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, Deputy Governor Comrade Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo stated that the health week will offer essential services such as child vaccinations, vitamin A supplements, pregnant women’s mosquito nets, deworming, prenatal care, and birth registration in all 44 local government areas.
Additionally, he announced the start of seasonal chemotherapy for malaria and the distribution of insecticide-treated nets, with the state government providing ₦140 million to store the nets.
In an effort to promote safe childbirth, the state is providing health clinics with 500 caesarean section kits and 6,000 delivery packs. In order to shield expectant mothers from anemia and malaria, we also give out 25,000 to 30,000 doses of prenatal care medications each month,” Gwarzo continued.
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