By Segun Adewale in Bauchi
Social Behavioural Change Specialist with the Bauchi Field Office of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Mr Eki George has identified sociocultural norms and influences as one of the leading factors to maternal deaths in Nigeria with Bauchi as one of the states with high rates of mortality in the country.
Eki George stated this while delivering a paper at a one-day partnership training held yesterday at the Late Mohammed Abdullahi Conference Hall of NUJ Bauchi Council Secretariat, to improve reporting on health issues affecting women and children.
The training programme was put in place by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bauchi State Council in collaboration with the Bauchi Field Office of UNICEF in which no fewer than 50 journalists across media organisations in the state participated in the training.
The UNICEF specialist said beliefs, traditions, and norms strongly affect health practices, argued that unless people change their approach, no meaningful improvement could be made.
He noted that in some cultures a pregnant woman commits taboo for practicing facility childbirth and those cultures promote unsafe traditional practices, highlighting stigma or misconceptions to prevent timely care.
On infant feeding, the Social and Behaviour Change Specialist said placing the baby on breast milk within their one hour of life prevents them from many child illnesses, acknowledging that delayed breastfeeding has the potential of exposing the child to danger.
He added that reversing gender norms that limit women’s mobility or access to information would help in encouraging positive health-seeking behavior among communities.
Also speaking, the Gender Desk Officer, Bauchi State Primary Health Care Board, Amina Balali called on husbands to give express permission to their wives to seek medical care whenever the need arises.
