Date: 2016-10-29

A former Chairman, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Haliru Yahaya, has said no fewer than 100 women die daily in Nigeria as a result of maternal/child mortality-related issues.

He said that about 90 per cent of the deaths were preventable.

He spoke on Friday during a sensitisation/advocacy programme organised by the Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme and the World Health Organisation at the Emir's Palace, Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

No fewer than 500 traditional chiefs across the Ilorin Emirate participated at the workshop.

Yahaya, who is also the Emir of Shonga, condemned child marriages, especially the ones between men and underage girls, which he said, had increased maternal mortality in the nation.

He, therefore, urged parents and community leaders to work together to curb the menace, while urging community leaders to always take proper records of births and deaths in their domains to improve developmental planning.

The monarch also appealed to parents, especially mothers, to embrace family planning and child spacing in order to ensure their well-being and that of their children.

He identified poverty, negligence and lack of adequate education among parents as some of the factors responsible for the high death rates in Africa.

The Magaji Ngeri of Ilorin, Alhaji Mohammed Jamiu Adebayo, appealed to all stakeholders in the health sector to expedite action towards providing better care for patients, adding that the masses deserved affordable and efficient health care provision from the government.

The Magaji Nda of Ilorin, Alhaji Saliu Woru Mohammed, called for sanctions against those involved in child marriages and their arrangements. He called on the various tiers of government to wage war against child marriages for societal well-being.