From Bashir Rabe Mani in Sokoto
The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has said no woman or child should die due to avoidable causes.
The Sultan spoke on Tuesday in Sokoto at the opening of a two-day Orientation for Religious Leaders on ‘Faith For Life.’
Our Correspondent in Sokoto reports that the all-important event was organized by the Sokoto State Directorate of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), with support from UNICEF and the European Union.
The participants, drawn from the 23 Local Government Areas of the state, were mainly Imams, clerics and clergy from the Sokoto State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
The Sultan explained that the Scriptures of the two major religions, Islam and Christianity, encouraged personal and environmental hygiene as well as promoting healthy practices.
In his remarks, the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Isa Onilu, represented by Madam Amaka Odili, urged the religious leaders to take ownership of the Faith for Life project to curb maternal mortality and morbidity, as well as scale up healthy practices.
Onilu further said that no child deserves to die for what can be prevented, urging the participants to champion the project.
Also speaking, the Sokoto State Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Prof. Jabi Sani Maihula, represented by the District Head of Gagi, Sarkin Yakin Gagi, Alhaji Sani Umar Jabbi, promised that the state government would never be a party to anything that could undermine the health of the people of the state.
The university don also disclosed that the state government had digitalized all religious activities, stating that the state now boasts of a digital data bank of all Imams, Mosques and other religious affairs.
The State Health Commissioner, Dr. Faruk Wurno also attributed the outbreaks of diseases including the recent Diphtheria outbreak to the non-vaccination of some children, disclosing measures that have been put in place to remedy the obnoxious development.
In his speech, Dr. Michael Juma, Head, UNICEF Sokoto Field Office, commended NOA for organizing the event, saying that the project is a bridge between faith and action.
He said that one of the expected outcomes was increased demand for health services across the state.
The State Director of NOA, Alhaji Babangida Kurfi, urged the participants to cascade the messages across the 23 LGAs in the state.
Kurfi further said that the essence was to ensure lasting peace, unity and bolstering positive health indices across the state.
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