At least 101 out of 1,000 children born in Osun State die before they reach 5 years of age due to malnutrition.
The Director of Nutrition at the Osun State Primary Healthcare Development Board, Mr. Mayowa Olaniyi disclosed this in Osogbo during a stakeholders’ session on Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF), supported by Alive and Thrive (FHI 360).
The Director said 56 out of 1,000 newly born children in the State die within 28 days of birth and that about 78 children out of 1,000 die before they are 12-month-old.
He said, “Only 23 children, out of 100 in the State are put to breast within 1 hour of delivery. 16 babies out of 100 are given other fluids and or solids before the start of breastfeeding. Only 55 out of 100 babies are exclusively breastfed, with underlying implications. Therefore, 101 out of 1,000 children die in Osun before they are 5 years old.”
He explained that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has authenticated the data which emanates from Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The Executive Secretary of the Osun State Primary Healthcare Development Board, Dr. Oluwole Fabiyi urged nursing mothers in the State to ensure they practise exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, so that their children would be alive, healthy and able to attain full potentials in life.
In her presentation, the representative of Alive and Thrive, Mrs Stephanie Dada said 45 percent of preventable deaths in children under age of 5 are due to malnutrition and that exclusive breastfeeding is the cheapest and easiest way-out of the dilemma.
