Child Survival

Improving Child Health and Nutrition

Throughout Nigeria, high rates of illness and death in children under the age of five are mainly caused by treatable and preventable diseases such as malaria, measles, diarrhea and acute respiratory infections.  At the same time, more than half of Nigerian children are malnourished, attributable to low rates of exclusive breastfeeding, poor quality of food, and simply not enough to eat. This is in addition to parents' lack of basic knowledge and management of childhood illness. 

By working with community-based and facility-based health providers and advocating for child health policies at national and state levels, COMPASS supports a focused and coherent child health program that has contributed to a significant reduction in child deaths.  The child survival activities are based in 37 Local Government Areas (i.e. districts) in Kano, Lagos and Nasarawa states.

COMPASS aims to strengthen child survival services in Nigeria by improving quality, increasing demand, and expanding access to health services in communities.  COMPASS' child survival interventions address the following components:

• Malaria: Overseeing distribution of approved anti-malarial drugs; improving quality of advice and drug choices by training local Patent Medicine Vendors; advocating for the use of insecticide-treated nets; and organizing outreach events to educate communities about malaria prevention and treatment.
• Nutrition: Promoting exclusive breastfeeding, appropriate complementary feeding, and Vitamin A supplementation during National Immunization Days, organized by the Federal Ministry of Health.
• Immunization: Providing program assistance with routine and supplementary immunization in national training and social mobilization working groups and monitoring and supporting National Immunization Day activities.
• Diarrheal Diseases, Acute Respiratory Infections, Newborn Care: Strengthening the home-based skills of community health promoters through refresher trainings and promoting messages on healthy household practices.

Approach to Implementation >>