Sultan Alerts On Imminent Child Deaths

Kaduna — The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar has said that 50,000 children will die before the end of the year if poverty, lack of access to education and infrastructure is not adequately addressed. The Sultan spoke at a one day dialogue and sensitization meeting with 21 traditional leaders on the current Maternal Health Challenges, especially Maternal Deaths (MPDSR) and Girl Child Education in Northern Nigeria organised by the Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development yesterday in Kaduna. The Sultan, who noted that the foundation is determined to serve the people as it continued to search for peace and development of the country, said traditional rulers would go to any length to get peace and development for communities in Northern Nigeria irrespective of religious or ethnic background. He said, "It is expected that about 49,000 children will die before the end of the year if nothing is done; how do we sit down and allow 50,000 children die by the end of this year, we cannot sit down and see this catastrophic nightmare happen in our communities?" The Sultan tasked members of the committee to ensure education and healthcare gets to women and children in every nook and cranny of their communities with a view to reversing the trend saying, "There is no reason why anybody will not have access to antenatal care, there is no reason why anybody should not have post natural care after delivering a child because that is the only way healthy children who will contribute to the development of the country will be born," he said.