UNICEF Seeks Full Coverage of Lagos Children in Maternal, Child Health Campaign
Funmi Ogundare
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Thursday, called on the Lagos State Government to sustain investments in child nutrition and ensure every child under five is reached through the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW).
It stressed that about three million children in the state depend on timely nutrition and healthcare interventions.
Speaking at the official flag-off of the 2026 first round of the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week held at the Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Secretariat, UNICEF Chief of Office, Lagos, Celine Lafoucriere, commended the wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, for her consistent support and leadership in advancing child health programmes across the state.
She stated that Sanwo-Olu’s sustained commitment over the years had ensured that millions of children in Lagos benefited from life-saving interventions, describing her as a key driver of the campaign’s success.
She noted that Lagos is home to about three million children under the age of five whose growth and development depend on access to adequate nutrition and healthcare, adding that although significant progress has been made, more work remains to be done.
According to her, “During the week-long campaign, health workers will visit communities across the state to administer Vitamin A supplements to improve children’s immunity and eyesight, provide deworming tablets to children, screen babies for malnutrition, and distribute micronutrient supplements to pregnant women to safeguard maternal and child health.”
She disclosed that UNICEF provided Vitamin A and micronutrient supplements for the exercise, supported community mobilisation efforts, and deployed field teams to monitor implementation and verify that eligible children were reached.
Lafoucriere, however, stressed that UNICEF’s support alone would not be sufficient without sustained government commitment.
She praised the Lagos State Government for releasing N156 million last year through the child nutrition match fund, noting that the funding enabled the procurement of essential nutrition commodities that directly benefited children across the state.
“When a government invests its own resources in child nutrition, it expands the programme’s reach, allows more children and mothers to be served, and improves the efficiency of service delivery,” she said.
She called on the state to ensure that the second round of the 2026 Maternal, Newborn and Child Health week is conducted before the end of November so that children missed during the current exercise would have another opportunity to receive the interventions.
Lafoucriere also urged the government to procure sufficient quantities of deworming tablets for children aged 12 to 59 months, warning that the campaign could not achieve its full impact without adequate supplies.
Reaffirming UNICEF’s commitment, she assured the state that the organisation would continue supporting Lagos throughout the current campaign, the second round later in the year, and other child health initiatives aimed at improving the wellbeing of women and children.
Earlier in her remarks, wife of Lagos State Governor, Dr. Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the wife of the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat, described the campaign as a strategic intervention designed to increase access to high-impact, cost-effective healthcare services, while encouraging positive health-seeking behaviour.
She warned expectant mothers against seeking care from unqualified birth attendants, stressing that patronage of quacks continues to result in avoidable complications and maternal deaths.
According to her, “Government agencies, community leaders and the traditional medicine board must intensify efforts to identify and prosecute illegal practitioners whose activities endanger lives.”
Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr. Kemi Ogunyemi, noted that the initiative has become one of Lagos State’s most impactful public health programmes.
She recalled that the concept originated in Lagos before being adopted nationally by the National Council on Health in 2010.
Despite improvements in healthcare delivery, she observed that maternal and child mortality remain significant public health concerns.
She therefore encouraged parents, caregivers and individuals who have missed routine healthcare appointments to take advantage of the ongoing free services.