Justina Asishana, Minna
SEVERE bacterial infections account for the largest portion of neonatal deaths in Nigeria, the 2019 Verbal and Social Autopsy (VASA) study has revealed.
It states that the three leading causes of neonatal deaths were sepsis, intrapartum-related injury and pneumonia.
The study further reveals that malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia were the top three causes of deaths in children aged one to 59 months.
The Verbal and Social Autopsy (VASA) report was launched by the National Populations Commission (NPC) during the zonal dissemination seminar organised by the commission which was both virtual and in-person in Minna, Niger State.
The Federal Commissioner of the National Populations Commission, Barrister Aliyu Datti, explained that the 2029 Verbal and Social Autopsy Study, which is a follow up to the 2018 NDHS, was conducted to estimate the causes and determinants of neonatal and under-five child mortality.
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The Federal Commissioner who was represented by the Niger State NPC Director, Mallam Uthman Baba, said the 2019 VASA report was conducted by the NPC in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and other agencies, adding that the 2019 VASA survey was the second in the series, the first conducted in 2014.
The Secretary of Niger State Government (SSG), Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, commended NPC and its partners for the report, describing it as an evidence-based report that can be used by policymakers to improve the health sector.
Matane who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Economic Affairs, Alhaji Baba Wachiko, stressed the need for stakeholders to look for ways of tackling the challenges that were highlighted in the report.
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