Nno, Welcome, Ola,

I visited Nigeria in 2006 and was bitten by a bug called High Infant Mortality Rate. I read about the issue in a local news paper in Abuja. This information was buttressed while on holidays in my father's village (Nnewi); an elderly woman informed my cousin and I of 2 infant deaths that Christmas week from childhood preventable illnesses. I was aghast. I sat down, dumfounded, then a flashback of I (as a child), at the end of civil war, women carrying their dying babies of kwashiorkor to my father's compound seeking relief; food, water, medicine anything to help their infants. In 2007 I returned to finish my graduate school in Public Health and my community health class provided a platform to research infant mortality rate. Hence, I wrote a paper on it, and proposed a three year strategic pyramid solution.

This blog is about being part of the solution:
(a) bringing the issue to bear
(b) envisioning seamless integrated strategies
(c) visualizing adapting innovative, sustainable solutions to mitigate variables that give rise to high infant deaths.

At issue is the continent of Africa. Some may say I gave money to Africa, yes you did but in reality you gave money for a project in Mali, or Sierra Leone or Liberia. That is 3 countries out of 50. From my research, high infant morality rate in SSA is attracting international, national and individual researchers seeking effective methods in implementing sustainable measures or solutions towards reversing the numbers. I am suggesting that more man power is needed to combat the problem at least in Nigeria.

http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/MDG_FS_4_EN.pdf



Wednesday, October 27, 2010

BEING AN ADVOCATE

I read New York Times almost everyday, and in any given week there are articles that comes close and personal as in my world view.  Take for example the article written in The New York Times Magazine, titled "Why Women's Rights Are the Cause of Our Time"  by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn in http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/magazine/23Women-t.html? about how "liberation could help solve many of the world's problems, from poverty to child mortality..."  Albeit a lengthy article, and excellent piece of writing.  They concluded by urging the readers to engage in "Do-It-Yourself Foreign AID", such as "BECOME AN ADVOCATE".  After reading the article the first impulse was to write them, of course I never did. Nevertheless, the article left an impression on me.  Suffice to say I am responding to their call to become an advocate.  I am now my own do-it-yourself foreign aid (LOL), advocating for infant mortality rate in Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa.  I thank Nicholas and Sheryl for having a picture of a real African woman on the cover of the magazine and for urging us to do something as opposed to complaining and blaming others for our social ills.
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