MATERNAL
AND CHILD HEALTH
Society for
Family Health through its Maternal & Child Health (MCH) Department
is devoted to improving the health of mothers, pregnant women and children
under the age of five in Nigeria. It administers social marketing products
and programming to tackle two of Nigeria’s largest health burdens:
Malaria and Diarrhoea (safe water systems)
Malaria
Malaria remains the foremost killer disease in Nigeria. It accounts
for over 25% of under-5 mortality, 30% childhood mortality and 11% maternal
mortality. At least 50% of the population has at least one episode of
malaria annually while children that are aged less than 5 years (about
24 million) have 2 to 4 attacks annually (FMOH 2002). The disease is
particularly virulent among pregnant women and children under 5 years
of age, due to their low levels of immunity.
To
address the importance of both malaria treatment and prevention, SFH
malaria programming centers on Pre-Packaged Therapy (PPT) and Long Lasting
Insecticide Treated Nets (LLINs).
Pre-Packaged
Therapy: KidACT an Artemesinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT)
The PPT was instituted by Society for Family Health to improve malaria
home management in Nigeria. Currently, the three major obstacles to
appropriate malaria treatment in Nigeria are:
• Administration of incorrect dosages of anti-malarial drugs
• Lack of compliance to the treatment regimen
• Lack of knowledge and experience of the effective anti-malaria
treatment known as Artemesinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) –
resulting from the change in malaria treatment policy.
Society
for Family Health launched KidCare Pre-Packaged Therapy (PPT)
in 2003 and stopped its distribution in 2006 in line with the Federal
Ministry of Health’s new treatment policy on malaria. SFH did
the first pan Nigerian radio campaign to promote the new policy of using
Artemisinine-based Combination Therapy (ACT) as the new first line drug
for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria. A new brand of ACT for Children
KidACT is being developed and will be launched in the first quartert
of 2008. The brand will be heavily subsidized price-wise for affordability
to poor and vulnerable Nigerians who bear the brunt of malaria in our
society.
Long
Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLINs)
Malaria prevention is equally as important as malaria treatment –
it is estimated that prevention alone could save Nigeria billions of
Naira in treatment expenses and foregone wages due to illness-related
unemployment.
PermaNet
LLINs are factory-treated mosquito nets that are safe, easy
to use, and come in a variety of sizes and colors to address individual
needs. PermaNet LLINs are effective for up to 4 years and will last
a minimum of 20 washes – they require no re-treatment during this
time, making them 5-10 times more effective than normally treated mosquito
nets. LLINs are an inexpensive and easy way of preventing malaria from
burdening the health and economic well-being of Nigerians.
Safe
Water System
As a result of inadequate water supply infrastructure, over 42% of the
Nigerian population lacks access to improved water supply sources. As
the government and donor communities work to improve this situation,
interim steps are critical to addressing the point-of-use dangers associated
with the ingestion of contaminated water. Diarrhoeal diseases alone
are responsible for 27% of all infant morbidity and 24% of all infant
mortality in Nigeria.
WaterGuard
SFH offers a simple and inexpensive safe water product that was developed
by the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the
Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). WaterGuard is point-of-use
hypochlorite solution that can be easily administered to treat contaminated
water and make it safe for drinking for individuals of all ages. One
bottle of WaterGuard can provide treated water to a family of six for
approximately one month at very minimal cost. WaterGuard is also particularly
effective in mitigating and containing cholera outbreaks – the
product was distributed by SFH to eight cholera outbreak sites in 2005
and proved a critical component in saving hundreds of lives.
While long-term
plans to construct piped, chlorinated water supply infrastructure are
underway, WaterGuard provides an important and inexpensive alternative
to accessing treated water in the short-term. Clean water is a universal
human right. |
