The Lagos State Government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have reaffirmed their commitment to improving child survival and nutrition, as they officially flagged off the first round of the 2026 Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW)
In a renewed pledge, the UN agency is set to reach about three million children under the age of five across the state.
Speaking at the launch held at the Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Secretariat, UNICEF Chief of Office, Lagos, Celine Lafoucrière, commended the Wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, for her consistent support for child health interventions, described her as a driving force behind the campaign’s success over the years.
“Your Excellency, this campaign has your fingerprints on it. Not just today, but across the years you’ve showed up for it. Every round, every flag-off, every push to get resources released and health workers moving. We see you, but most importantly, millions of children in Lagos State have been reached because you did not let this work stop,” Lafoucrière said.
She noted that Lagos is home to nearly three million children under the age of five, stressing that many still require critical health and nutrition services during the formative years of their lives.
“Three million children whose brains are forming, whose bones are growing, whose bodies need the right food and the right care right now – not next year. And the data tells us there is still more to do, and this campaign is how we change that,” she added.
According to UNICEF, health workers deployed across the state during the campaign will administer Vitamin A supplements to strengthen children’s immunity and prevent blindness, provide deworming tablets to combat parasitic infections, screen infants for malnutrition, and distribute micronutrient supplements to pregnant women to improve maternal and child health outcomes.
Lafoucrière disclosed that UNICEF supplied Vitamin A capsules and micronutrient supplements for the exercise, while also supporting community mobilisation efforts to ensure caregivers are aware of the campaign. She added that UNICEF teams would monitor implementation to verify that eligible children and mothers are reached.
The UNICEF official also praised the Lagos State Government for its financial commitment to child nutrition, revealing that the state released ₦156 million last year through the Child Nutrition Match Fund, enabling the procurement of essential nutrition commodities.
“When a government spends its own money on this work, it changes what is possible. It means we can do more, reach more children and mothers, and waste less time,” she said.
She called on the state government to sustain the momentum by ensuring the second round of the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week is conducted before the end of November 2026, while urging authorities to procure sufficient deworming tablets for children aged 12 to 59 months.
“Every child we do not reach this week needs that second chance. We cannot run this campaign at half strength,” Lafoucrière warned.
Reaffirming UNICEF’s long-term partnership with Lagos State, she pledged continued support for programmes aimed at improving child nutrition, maternal health and the survival of vulnerable children.
“UNICEF will be here. For this round, for the next one, and for the work that happens in between,” she said.
The Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week is a nationwide intervention designed to improve access to life-saving healthcare services for mothers and children through immunisation, nutrition, growth monitoring and other essential health services. In Lagos, the programme forms part of broader efforts to reduce child mortality and tackle malnutrition through collaboration between government and development partners.