The Ogun State Government has noted the publication of a report as contained in the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), rating the state as having the highest infant mortality rate in the southwest of Nigeria.
Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) is conducted every two years by the Bureau of Statistics with support from partners in order to fill the data gap for monitoring the situation of children and mothers’ health.
The survey had in recent statistics recorded Ogun State as having the highest record of deaths of children between the ages of 0 and five years as well as postnatal care for newborns, in the southwestern part of the country.
But the state government in a statement by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Olutomi Coker, on Saturday, in Abeokuta, cleared the air on the recent result released in the last MICS in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Coker said that the state government was not unaware of the health position of women and children in the state, the situation is not as painted by the publication. She stated that the report also made it clear that the sample size was not adequate for majority of indicators in the state thereby making the report a poor representation of the true picture of infant health in the state.
“Our attention has been drawn to a publication rating three southwest states as having high infant mortality as released in the last MICS disseminated recently in Ibadan. While the Ogun State Health Ministry acknowledge the result of the survey, we would like to state that we are monitoring the health situation of both our women and children in the state. All efforts are being deployed to ensure Ogun State continues to rank within one of the lowest in infant mortality in the southwest.
“The survey is conducted every two years and MICS 5 results for Ogun State was considerably low compared to the recent results which came as a surprise given the various interventions we have put in place as an administration to improve the health outcomes for our mothers and children”, she noted in the statement.
The Health Commissioner emphasized that the reporting period for the survey witnessed a major shift in the health system with the COVID-19 pandemic. which crippled the health system in the country,
Dr. Coker stated further that the recent review of our data suggests approximately 40% of pregnant women in Ogun State choose to visit Traditional Birth Attendances (TBAs) for delivery, which may have impact on the outcome for both mother and child.
She remarked that this administration is not sitting on its oars on the above subject matter, disclosing that systems and innovations have been instituted to address this undesirable trend.
