Nigerian Paediatricians appeal for more collaborating to advance Child Health

The Paediatric Association of Nigeria, PAN, has called on relevant stakeholders to devise various means of collaborating on how to advance child health and development across Nigeria.

 

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The call was made by the President of PAN, Dr. Ekanem Ekure, in Gombe, at the opening of the 56th Session of their Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference on the theme, ‘Inter-sectoral Collaboration in Advancing Child Health and Development”.

Dr. Ekanem said participants from across Nigeria, should, during the scientific session and discussions focus on child health interventions.

 

 

She called on state governments to prioritize child health interventions across all nooks and crannies of Nigeria, primarily with focus on quality healthcare across all the health facilities, particularly primary healthcare and communities.

“Funding should be allocated with timely release and a scale-up of child intervention in their states. They should collaborate with PAN to support mentorship and coaching to ensure quality health services, with a focus on primary healthcare levels, towards universal health care. They should recruit and deploy healthcare workers equitably,” said Dr. Ekanem.

She stressed that state governments should also ensure functional state score cards to monitor the progress of child healthcare interventions across the local government health facilities and communities.

According to her, the financial autonomy granted to local governments in Nigeria, local government chairmen were now more empowered to develop a clear work plan which should fully reflect child health activities, with focal persons designated for child health, where there was none.

“Use your office to ensure child health programmes are well implemented in primary health cares and communities.

Ensure quality data for planning and decision making for child health. Support and strengthen the health system,” said Dr. Ekanem.

Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr. Manassah Daniel Jatau, highlighted the importance of child health, which he said underlined the critical link between health and the overall societal development.

Dr. Jatau emphasised the commitment of the Gombe State Government in advancing health services, which is guided by the principle that health is fundamental to the well-being of society.

He acknowledged the impressive range of topics and speakers for the conference, expressing confidence that the event would lead to valuable discussions on enhancing child health, urging participants to assess their achievements, identify areas for improvement, and collaborate on research and solutions that will serve the needs of Nigerian society.

 

 

Focusing on the theme, Dr. Jatau stressed the importance of working across sectors, including health, education, social services, and community organizations.

He encouraged researchers to explore local solutions for health challenges, such as manufacturing vaccines and medical products from indigenous plants and resources, to reduce dependency on imports.

The Chairman of the occasion, Prof. Mohammed Abubakar Auwal, said the scientific conference was to provide opportunity for stakeholders to exchange ideas and evolve new initiatives towards ensuring that child health and welfare were taken seriously.

Prof. Clara Ladi Ejembi, from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, who delivered a paper on “Building Bridges of Inter-sectoral Collaboration in Advancing Child Health and Development,” highlighted the need for collaboration among key stakeholders towards enhancing the health of the child.

The Chief of UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Dr. Nuzhat Rafique, encouraged the stakeholders at the conference to reaffirm their resilience and dedication to the rights and wellbeing of children.

“We believe that by working together, we can overcome barriers and create sustainable solutions to empower the next generation, which is going to take the leadership of Nigeria,” said Dr. Rafique.