Reduce the burden of malaria and other diseases by 2015.
Initiatives to Reduce infant and Maternal Mortality and HIV-AIDS Control in Nigeria:
MDG 4: Reduce child mortality:
Nigeria’s efforts aimed at reducing avoidable child deaths have been met with gradual
and sustained progress. The under-five mortality rate (U5MR) has improved remarkably from 191
deaths per 1000 live births in 2000 to 89 deaths per 1000 live births in 2014 as the end-point
status. Considering the end-point status of U5MR, Nigeria falls short of the 2015 target of 64
deaths per 1000 live births by 28 %.
In 1990 (as the baseline), the infant mortality rate (IMR) was estimated at 91 deaths per
1000 live births. This, however, decreased to 75 deaths per 1000 live births in 2008 and to 61
deaths per 1000 live births in 2012. Although the end-point figure which stood at 58 deaths per
1000 live births in 2014 reflects progress, it is still short of the 2015 target of 30 deaths per 1000
live births.
The immunization effort against measles has been relatively effective. It has resulted in
significant reductions in case burden as a result of the scale up of the administration of measles
vaccination to children 9 months and older through routine immunization services led by the
National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA). The proportion of one-year-old
children immunized against measles increased from 46% in 1990 to 61.3% in 2012 and
subsequently to 63.0% in 2014.
Nigeria has also recorded strong progress in the effort to eradicate polio and recently
celebrated one year without polio from July 2014 to July 2015. Overall Conclusion on Goal 4:
Strong progress but goal not met.
MDG 5: Improve maternal health:
The drive to make progress on this goal has seen improvements in maternal health. With a
baseline figure of 1000 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990, the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR)
consistently decreased over the years to 545 in 2008. The downward trend continued to 350
deaths per 100,000 live births in 2012 and subsequently to its end-point status of 243 per 100,000
live births in 2014.
Many policy drivers made the progress possible; one being the Midwives Service Scheme
while the other was the collaborative efforts made between donors and the Federal Ministry of
Health and its parastatals. In the meantime, the proportion of births attended by skilled health
personnel improved appreciably from a baseline figure of 45% in 1990 to the end-point status of
58.6% in 2014 with the conviction that the national figure would have been better had it not been
for the wide disparities across states with lower records. The success recorded is attributed to
effective implementation of the Midwives Service Scheme (MSS).
In the case of antenatal coverage, significant progress was also recorded. Antenatal
coverage of at least one visit recorded an end-point status of 68.9% in 2014, and for at least four
visits, the end-point status was 60.6% in 2014. The successes imply the need for a scale-up of
the policy interventions. Overall Conclusion on Goal 5: Maternal mortality target met, and strong
progress made on other indicators.
MDG 6: Combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases:
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