.25m babies die in first month of their birth in Nigeria

.25m babies die in first month, says minister Dr. Khaliru Alhassan .25m babies die in first month, says minister About 250,000 babies die within the first month of their birth,the Coordinating Minister of Health, Alhaji Khaliru Alhassan, has said. The minister noted that the deaths, which accounted for about 32 per cent of under-five child mortality in the country, were preventable. Alhassan spoke yesterday in Abuja at the maiden edition of the National Newborn Conference. The minister said the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) had maintained vital workable interventions but the progress was discouraging. He said the interventions focused more on in-house capacity but recorded “low progress”. According to him, there are vital policies that support the fight against newborn. Alhassan said: “It is a clarion call to make sure every newborn lives. Reports showed that we have the highest number of new born deat,h with 250,000 babies dying in their first month from conditions that are preventable.”