Lagos state and the United Nations Children's Fund are mobilising to reach three million children under five in the first round of this year's Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week. The push aims to combat malnutrition, boost child survival rates and widen access to preventive healthcare across the state.
Celine Lafoucriere, UNICEF's Lagos chief, kicked off the campaign in Oshodi/Isolo on Monday and outlined what the week-long drive would deliver. Healthcare workers will administer Vitamin A supplements to strengthen immunity and protect eyesight, distribute deworming tablets to eligible children, screen babies for malnutrition and give micronutrient supplements to pregnant women.
"Lagos has about three million children under the age of five whose brains are forming, whose bones are growing and whose bodies need the right food and the right care now, not next year," Lafoucriere said.
UNICEF supplied the Vitamin A capsules and micronutrient supplements for the exercise while supporting community mobilisation and field monitoring. Lafoucriere praised the Lagos government for releasing N156 million last year through the Child Nutrition Match Fund, which enabled the procurement of nutrition commodities distributed directly to children.
"When a government spends its own money on this work, it changes what is possible. It means we can do more, reach more children and mothers, and waste less time," she added.
Lafoucriere urged the state to conduct the second round of the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week before November ends. She also called for adequate procurement of deworming tablets for children aged 12 months to 59 months.
Oluremi Hamzat, wife of the deputy governor, represented Governor Sanwo-Olu's wife at the event. She described the campaign as a strategic intervention designed to boost access to high-impact, cost-effective healthcare services while promoting positive health-seeking behaviour.
Hamzat warned pregnant women against patronising unqualified birth attendants, saying this continues to fuel avoidable maternal complications and deaths. She called on government agencies, community leaders and the Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board to strengthen efforts identifying and prosecuting illegal practitioners endangering lives.
She disclosed that over 4,000 rape cases were reported in Lagos in 2025, while substance abuse among adolescents remains a growing concern. Residents can report cases of domestic and sexual violence through the state's toll-free emergency line, she assured, with government backing for victims seeking justice.
Previous editions of the campaign delivered significant results, Hamzat noted. More than 4.19 million children received Vitamin A supplements, while over 4.36 million children were dewormed in past rounds.
More than 17,500 pregnant women and nursing mothers benefited from antenatal and postnatal care through the campaign. Over 216,900 women and men accessed family planning services.
