THE UN Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health has reiterated calls on the global community to work together to save 16 million lives by 2015 through increasing access to and appropriate use of essential medicines, medical devices and health supplies that effectively address leading avoidable causes of deaths during pregnancy, childbirth and childhood.
In 2010, the UN Secretary General’s Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health said the suffering of women and children around the world was caused by lack of access to life saving commodities.
This global move is particularly relevant to Nigeria with a new study by the Economist Intelligence Unit that ranked Nigeria as the worst place for a baby to be born in 2013.
The EIU, a sister company of The Economist, had ranked Nigeria 80th out of the 80 countries considered for the study with a score of 4.74 out of 10, just below Kenya which scored 4.91.
South Africa, at 53rd position, was the best placed African country with a score of 5.89.
Four North African nations (Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco) as well as oil rich Angola were regarded as better places to bear children ahead of Nigeria.
In spite of this gloomy situation, millions of women in Nigesria still claim ignorance of so many products that could enhance the health of their babies and also lower neo-natal deaths in the country.
The UN Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children, which is part of the Every Woman, Every Child movement has the overall goal of increasing access to essential commodities in the world’s poorest countries..
The commission also identified key barriers preventing access to and use of these commodities and recommended innovative action to rapidly increase both access and use.
The report of the UN Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children was released in September 2012.
The Economist Intelligence Unit study had attempted to measure what will provide the best environment for the healthiest, safest, and most prosperous life in the coming years.
The quality-of-life index used in the survey was measured around key areas like crime, trust in public institutions, health of family life and government policies.
It also examined how happy citizens say they are as well as other variables such as a forecast of income per head.
The study used the EIU’s 2030 economic forecasts, the year when children born in 2013 are expected to attain adulthood.
European countries dominate the top ten with Switzerland scoring 8.22 to lead the pack, ahead of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and The Netherlands.
“Surveys show that, even in rich countries, people with higher incomes are more satisfied with life than those with lower incomes,” says Laza Kekic, Director, EIU’s Country Forecasting Services.
“However, over several decades there has been only a very modest upward trend in average life satisfaction scores in developed nations, whereas average income has grown substantially,” the director added.
The United States, which came out tops at the EIU’s inaugural survey in 1988, was tied at the 16th position with Germany, scoring 7.38.
Large European Economies like France and Britain as well as the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) did not fare particularly well in the ranking, a fact attributed to the global economic crisis. War-torn Syria placed 73rd with a score of 5.29.
In October this year, the United Nations Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children Implementation Committee met in Abuja. At the meeting, ministers of health of African countries and country technical teams and delegates discussed issues and challenges in providing access to under-utilised commodities that could save the lives of babies and women.
Though the commission said between 15,000 and 1.89 million of neonatal and maternal deaths could be saved in five years, it identified three main barriers to saving maternal and neo-natal lives. These are ineffective regulation, poor quality oversight and general inefficiencies, limited supplies of high-quality products and user supply and demand challenges such as low demand by end-users, local delivery and distribution breakdowns and incorrect prescription and use.
It also listed essential commodities to include oxytocin, misoprostol, magnesium sulphate, injectable antibiotics, antenatal corticosteroids, chlorhexidine, resuscitation devices, amoxicillin, oral rehydration solution, zinc, female condoms, contraceptive implants and emergency contraception.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health, Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate, said at the meeting that the Federal Government remained committed to enhancing access to life-saving commodities for women and children and to improving the nation’s health outcomes.