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Call to Worship
Yaum al-Jumu’ah, Rajab 21, 1434AH Friday, May 31, 2013
National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Pneumonia kills, vaccinate your children
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08055102994
s the world celebrates 2013 Children’s Day, Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company has urged all stakeholders to defend and improve the health status of every Nigerian child and more importantly, to always remember that Pneumonia is the world’s leading killer of children under the age of five while it is the second leading in Nigeria. As a result, all hands must be on deck to stop this. The Company’s Medical Director, Dr. Kodjo
Soroh said there was urgent need for government, corporate organisations and well-meaning individuals to explore partnership strategy for a better health care of the Nigerian child. Lamenting on the prevalent cases of pneumonia and diarrhoea among children in Nigeria, he stressed that everyone, especially media practitioners have a prominent role to play in fighting the diseases while promoting a healthy nation. “It is no longer what Pfizer is doing, but everybody, including the media involvement in working together to sensitise and vaccinate Nigerian children against these diseases, most of which are 100 per cent preventable. We are looking at prevention of preventable diseases,
L-R: Auntie Fatimah Abdul-Salam; Hajia Monsurah Oyedeji of General Hospital, Ikeja and the Director, Al-Bayan Schools, Hajia Fatimah Idris duding the school’s PTA meeting recently.
Ignorancepredisposesteenstoinfections–Jonathan
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rs. Dame Patience Jonathan has called on parents to avail their children of the necessary sex education, noting that when children do not have the prerequisite knowledge about sex, they are at the risk of diseases and infections such as HIV/AIDS. She made the observation as the keynote speaker at the recently launched National Strategy for the Prevention of Teenage Pregnancy in Sierra-Leone, which focused on the role of traditional and religious leaders in the prevention of teenage pregnancy. According to her, the burden of teenage pregnancy and unsafe abortion has become twin issues that can be tackled at both the cultural and the home levels if conversation on sex is not regarded as a taboo, especially between parents and children. “We live in a global age and it is easy to recognise that many of our young people are being exposed to negative influences, in the name of westernisation. While we must take advantage of western influences to advance our continent’s development, it is also imperative to build walls against those elements that threaten our well being and our time-honoured traditional values. “Also, traditional norms and practices that discriminate against or hinder the development of the girl- child must be reviewed. Our religious and traditional institutions will always have a critical role to play in our communities to impart and promote the correct moral values, especially through value re-orientation.” She urged parents to take a renewed interest in their children, especially the girls, as mothers have essential roles to play in this regard. “Sex education should begin from the homes. Conversation on sex should not be a taboo between mothers and their children,” she pointed out.
The first Lady was particularly worried about the rising profile of deaths of young women as a result of unsafe abortion and noted that it is pertinent to know that an estimated 70,000 teenage mothers die each year because they have children before they are physically ready for parenthood. “These unmarried pregnant teens often resort to desperate measures and seek to abort their unplanned pregnancies by patronising the services of quacks. As a result, they end up with unsafe abortion complication s, resulting in either their death or loss of future reproductive ability. “14 per cent of all unsafe abortions in lowand middle-income countries are among women aged 15–19 years. About 2.5 million adolescents have unsafe abortions every year, and adolescents are more seriously affected by complications than are older women. Furthermore, up to 65 per cent of women with obstetric fistula develop this as adolescents, with dire consequences for their lives, physically and socially. It is also a fact that some of these pregnant teenagers feel isolated, stigmatised and abandoned and so develop mental disorders, such as depression”. She pointed out that bearing children comes with numerous risks to mother and child and that teenage pregnancy usually means that the girl will drop out of school with many dire consequences. “We must note that even though our religious injunctions frown on pregnancy out of wedlock, we must not abandon our teen girls who find themselves in this situation. It is essential that educators work closely with health care workers to educate the youth on the importance of contraception while highlighting the advantages of abstinence and high moral values among our adolescents. While disciplining them, we must also show them the way to turn around their lives,” she advised.
AS MOTHERS, HEALTH WORKERS... LET US DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO REDUCE PNEUMONIA MORTALITY global vaccine action plan and universal accessibility to quality health care. The Medical Director charged Nigerians to deviate from mourning the country’s unpalatable health indices to taking drastic and collective steps in arresting the ugly trend. “There is need to continue to spread the message even to the rural areas. Ghana for example, had not recorded any case of measles for the past seven years, this is the disease that is still prevalent and remains the highest killer of children in Nigeria, “he said. As part of its contribution to child healthcare during this year’s celebration, Dr Kodjo stated that Pfizer was partnering with the Kwara State Government, using the Arts Competition as a channel of reorientation on diseases which Nigerians often misconstrue for spiritual cases. Also, Director of Communication and Public Affairs, Pfizer, Mrs Margaret Olele advised Nigerians to place their health as priority instead of other luxuries of life at the expense quality health status. She said it was high time Nigeria tapped into public-private partnership and other models of improving
health care delivery, most especially as it dawn on Nigeria, can no longer meet her 2015 new Millennium Development Goal on health. Mrs. Olele noted that there must be a comprehensive and long-lasting health packages through collaborations geared towards eradicating childhood diseases. She however described the children as voiceless, emphasising the situation as prerequisite for stakeholders to represent their interest at all cases. “If we must save our children from this unhealthy situation, Nigerians should shift from the tradition of only talking during world diseases celebration days to talking and acting every day, and the time is now,” she said. Since Pneumonia causes almost 1 in 5 under-five deaths worldwide: more than 2 million children each year and kills more children than any other disease - more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined, as mothers, health workers and other stakeholders, let us do everything possible to reduce pneumonia mortality, a key step towards the achievement of the millennium development goal on child mortality. Identifying those children at greatest risk, those hardest to reach and the most neglected, and targeting them with interventions of proven efficacy will help in closing the gap, eventually bringing an end to the heavy toll of preventable child deaths through exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months of life, regular hand-washing, reduction of indoor air-pollution, effective case management as well as prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
Countdown to Ramadan 1434 A.H.
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you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become righteous (pious) - [Qur’an 2:183] Dear brothers and sisters, the blessed month of Ramadan, the 9th month of the Islamic calendar, is fast approaching. Ramadan is about 38 days away now. May almighty Allah spare our lives to witness the glorious month and more of it, Ameen. How are we preparing for it in order to maximize the numerous benefits of the special month? Let us remember that along with fasting, Ramadan is a time of increased worship and devotion to Allah, and is a good time for self-improvement and reflection. As mothers, wives, fathers and children, how are we preparing? You finished the recitation of the glorious Qur’an maybe once last year, how are you planning to surpass that this year? Remember, Qur’an was first revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) during this month. Moon sighting is always an issue and this must be well-taken care of. The first and last days of fasting are determined by the sighting of the crescent of the new moon and therefore, Muslim scholars need to exercise caution and follow the Prophetic
teachings regarding moon sighting and the beginning and ending of fasting. It will be a grievious sin if due to negligence or being adamant on personal ground, some Muslims will be made to be fasting when they are not supposed to or eating on a day of fasting, may Allah save us from His wrath. Fasting is one of the Pillars of Islam (Sawm) and is compulsory on every ablebodied Muslim who has reached puberty. Those travelling and the sick can defer their fast and make up for it later. Women are exempted from fasting during menstruation, pregnancy, and breast-feeding but are also required to make up for their missed fasts. Along with fasting, the Holy month of Ramadan is a time of increased worship and devotion to Allah, and is a good time for selfimprovement and reflection.Many Muslims choose the Holy month of Ramadan to fulfil the other Pillars of Islam such as payment of Zakat. Let us do so properly and with the fear of Allah. May Allah make it easy for us, Amin. For those who are yet to fast in this month of Rajab, we still have some days to go, it is a meritorious act to do so, let us avail ourselves of that opportunity.
Act Wisely Hadith Qudsi The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said : “Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said : Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love
him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him.”