Maternal Health Literacy and Children's Health in Nigeria
Children are the leaders of tomorrow, but the possibility of tomorrow is dependent on the care givers. Since 2005 Nigeria has recorded devastatingly low on the Care Index for maternal and child care compared to other nations and as a result, 2.9 million children, including 1.2 million newborns have died each year in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Through the Global Environmental Health LAB, I am fundraising to improve the lives of millions of children in Nigeria by enabling mothers to have better access to health care information. Through my research, I hope to improve maternal health literacy in Nigeria; to guarantee a healthy tomorrow for children and newborns. For the past five years, Nigeria has been the second largest contributor to the global mortality of children. Evidence shows that mothers with increased maternal literacy are more likely to have their children immunized, thus resulting in a healthy, longer life.
However, there have been very few research studies regarding baseline maternal literacy status and its associations with under-five preventable illnesses in Nigeria.
Please join me as we save children's lives by supporting my research in maternal health literacy and its effects on child health in Nigeria. My purpose is to reduce under-five mortality and morbidity by improving maternal health literacy overall via access to health care through maternal education.
The research project estimated cost is $4270. Additionally, your support will enable me to complete my graduate internship project by directly supporting the following in Nigeria:
Community education workshops (ie. Transportation for locals, teaching space, speakers, technology/generator) – $1,520
Transportation (ie. Air travel) - $2,150
Onsite activities (ie. Survey questionnaires, interpreters, marketing/communication) - $600
Thank you in advance for making a difference in the lives of care givers and children in Nigeria. Together, we can work towards a healthy tomorrow.
You can be a part of my journey here.
For more information about Global Environmental Health LAB, please visit www.gehlab.org or follow GEH LAB on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
A little about me: I am Chuks, a current Master of Public Health (MPH) graduate student at Northern Illinois University, IL, USA, with a passion for maternal health care. I hold a Bachelor degree in Medicine and Surgery (M.B.B.S.) from the University of Benin, Nigeria. After my undergraduate studies, I practiced medicine as a physician for a few years before moving to the United States to pursue a Master of Public Health degree at the Northern Illinois University (NIU). During my practice I worked closely with women in rural southern Nigeria and understood the magnitude of delivering first hand health care to women with great financial and health burden.
