The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has donated a Draeger incubator, baby Apnea monitors, beddings, to the pediatric ward of the University of Ibadan College Hospital and renovated the children outpatient clinic play area (CHOP).
This gesture is part of “IBEDC’s changing lives, one child at a time” Corporate Social Responsibility Campaign to care for the Nigerian child as we have done with the education career fair day and Energy club activations in partnership with USAID in various schools to promote safety, energy conservation, career awareness for young girls and boys through mentorship by young IBEDC subject matter experts, sponsorship of Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) School quiz competition, we have also extended this gesture to the Rest Anchor charity foundation for indigent children.
IBEDC also identified with Nigeria’s gallant soldiers fighting insurgency in the North-East by supporting the Nigerian Army Wives’ Association (NAOWA) 2nd Division Chapter Ibadan with items for their annual Children’s day party
Our care for the children also pours out to their mothers, the women, in partnership with USAID, the D.I.S.C.O for women conference was held with over 500 women drawn from various professions and walks of life for talks on empowerment.
Importantly, IBEDC is joining in the fight against Neonatal, Infant and Under Five morbidity and mortality in Oyo state first and gradually to other franchise areas of Osun, Ogun and Kwara.
Neonatal, Infant and Under-five mortality rates remain high in Nigeria; the country has the third highest mortality rate in the world accounting for 9 percent.
According to the UNICEF “one in every five Nigerian children never reach the age of five, a child born in Sub-Sahara Africa and South Asia is nine times more likely to die in the first month than a child born in a high- income countries.
Millions of babies are born too early every year the world over and preterm birth complications accounts for over 1million deaths in 2015.
These mind boggling but preventable deaths prompted IBEDC to given incubator and Apnea monitors to keep the preterm babies and babies born with special needs safe and stable to increase their chances of survival.
Globally, the Neonatal mortality rate fell 49% from 37 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 18 in 2017, but that decline is slower compared to other mortality rates (WHO)
118 countries already had an Under-five mortality rate below the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target rate of 25 deaths per 1,000 live births and 12 per 1,000 live births in new births.
