Nigeria continues to record about 850,000 preventable newborn and under-five deaths every year, despite progress in child survival efforts, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, has said.
Pate made the disclosure on Wednesday during the 2025 World Pneumonia and Prematurity Days in Abuja, represented by Mr. John Urakpa, Director of Health Promotion.
He noted that although under-five mortality has declined by 45 per cent over the last two decades—from 201 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 110 in 2023—the rate remains unacceptably high. Nigeria is not on track to meet the SDG target of less than 25 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030.
Describing pneumonia as the “forgotten killer”, Pate said pneumonia and complications from prematurity continue to undermine national efforts to improve child survival. Globally, about 100 million cases of childhood pneumonia occur each year, causing over 808,000 deaths, with Nigeria and 14 other countries accounting for roughly three-quarters of the burden.
He highlighted collaborative efforts, including the In-Patient Pneumonia Treatment Algorithm, which has strengthened the capacity of secondary and tertiary health workers, reducing under-five mortality from 132 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2018 to 110 in 2024.
Pate expressed concern over slow progress in reducing newborn deaths, which have only marginally declined from 42 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 41 in 2024. Each year, Nigeria loses about 280,000 newborns within the first 28 days of life to prematurity and another 162,000 children to pneumonia.
The commemoration also marked the launch of the Nigerian Child Survival Action Plan and the National Birth Defect Surveillance Guideline. The Child Survival Plan provides a holistic roadmap integrating health, nutrition, education, and social protection, while the Birth Defect Guideline establishes a hospital-based sentinel surveillance system across 12 tertiary facilities to improve research, policy, and intervention planning.
Ms. Daju Kachollom, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, represented by Dr. Amina Mohammed, Director of the Child Health Division, said the event renewed national commitment to child survival, focusing on primary healthcare, oxygen therapy, Kangaroo Mother Care, and early breastfeeding.
Dr. Martin Dohlsten of UNICEF Nigeria reaffirmed the agency’s support for government efforts, emphasizing coordinated action and sustained advocacy to protect every Nigerian child.
World Pneumonia Day is observed every Nov. 12, while World Prematurity Day falls on Nov. 17, both commemorated in Nigeria to highlight high neonatal and under-five mortality and advance progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals on child health.
