The Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker says new data has indicated 40% of expectant mothers in the state choose to visit Traditional Birth Attendances (TBAs) for delivery, which may be having an impact on the outcome for both mother and child.
The commissioner while responding to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS 6) by the National Bureau of Statistics supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund which rated the state as having the highest infant mortality rate in the southwest of Nigeria stated that the state government was not unaware of the health position of women and children in the state.
She noted that the situation was not as bad as painted by the UNICEF Assisted report.
Dr. Coker also argued that the report was a poor representation of the true picture of infant health in the state faulting the sample size used for the report.
The Health Commissioner emphasized that the reporting period for the survey witnessed a major shift in the health system with the COVID-19 pandemic which crippled the health system in the country,
Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) is conducted every two years by the Bureau of Statistics with support from United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF to fill the data gap for monitoring the situation of children and mothers’ health.
The latest survey, MICS6 had recorded Ogun State as having the highest record of deaths of children between the ages of 0 and five years as well as postnatal care for newborns, in the southwestern part of the country.
Wale Oluokun
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