The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said the first 1,000 days of a child’s life is a critical period for survival and lifetime development.
UNICEF’s Chief of Bauchi Field Office, Dr Tushar Rane, said this yesterday during a media dialogue in Gombe.
He said it was critical to physical and brain growth.
The first 1,000 days of life comprise the days between conception (9 months of pregnancy) and the first two years of a child’s life.
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He said growth failure during this period was associated with long-term consequences,s inclusive of schooling, productivity and income, adding that undernutrition is most likely to occur in the first two years.
Dr Rane said nurturing care in early life was key to achieving potential, such as cognitive and emotional performance, immunity and protection from diseases, protection from metabolic diseases in later life and body, and work capacity and productivity.
While calling for high-impact intervention during the first 1,000 days, he said these should include maternal supplementation and dietary counseling, essential newborn care, immunisation, exclusive breastfeeding and psychosocial stimulation and supplementation, among others.
The vice chancellor of the Federal University, Kashere, Gombe State, said the media could stimulate political and public action on development issues.
He said that apart from the privileged ones, the majority of Nigerian children are faced with problems such as living in the streets, drug abuse, human trafficking, weaknesses of the juvenile justice system, child abuse, rape, and violence, poverty and many other social vices.
He said the media could facilitate positive or negative behavioural change and stimulate positive action for the rights of the children.
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