The appeal is contained in a statement jointly issued on Monday by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher; UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell; UNOPS Executive Director, Jorge Moreira da Silva; Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini; Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Cindy McCain and; Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

In the statement, the UN officials stressed the need for urgent action to protect civilians, facilitate aid, release hostages and renew a ceasefire.

“For over a month, no commercial or humanitarian supplies have entered Gaza,” they regretted.

According to the rest of the statement, “More than 2.1 million people are trapped, bombed and starved again, while, at crossing points, food, medicine, fuel and shelter supplies are piling up, and vital equipment is stuck.

“Over 1,000 children have reportedly been killed or injured in just the first week after the breakdown of the ceasefire, the highest one-week death toll among children in Gaza in the past year.

‘Just a few days ago, the 25 bakeries supported by the World Food Programme during the ceasefire had to close due to flour and cooking gas shortages.

“The partially functional health system is overwhelmed. Essential medical and trauma supplies are rapidly running out, threatening to reverse hard-won progress in keeping the health system operational.

“The latest ceasefire allowed us to achieve in 60 days what bombs, obstruction and lootings prevented us from doing in 470 days of war: life-saving supplies reaching nearly every part of Gaza.

“While this offered a short respite, assertions that there is now enough food to feed all Palestinians in Gaza are far from the reality on the ground, and commodities are running extremely low.

“We are witnessing acts of war in Gaza that show an utter disregard for human life.

“New Israeli displacement orders have forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee yet again, with no safe place to go.

“No one is safe. At least 408 humanitarian workers, including over 280 from UNRWA, have been killed since October 2023.”

The Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environment Secretariat, FCTA, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, stated this during the inauguration of the Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation and Initiatives (MAMII) programme in Abuja on Monday.

The inauguration of the MAMII programme was part of activities to commemorate the 2025 World Health Day, with the theme “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures.”

Fasawe, who said that maternal and child mortality are majorly due to complications at childbirth, noted that the FCT Administration introduced health insurance cover for pregnant women and their newborn to curb mortality.

This, she said, was in line with the administration’s zero tolerance to maternal and infant mortality.

She added that there were also specific programmes that the Federal Government had put in place toward addressing not only the health of the populace, but also for pregnant women and newborn.

According to her, the measure will ensure timely and proper healthcare for pregnant mothers and newborn.

She said “it is a policy of this administration that when a woman has health insurance, her pregnancy and delivery would be covered by the insurance policy.

“In addition, the baby, when delivered, is entitled to a health insurance cover in the first year of his/her life.

“In simple English, delivery is free, and childcare is free.”

She said that the FCTA had set up a health insurance desk in all its facilities and urged pregnant women to register to access free health services.

Fasawe added that the MAMII programme was also organised to educate pregnant women on what President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda has put in place to reduce maternal and newborn mortality.

She explained that the 2025 theme means a new and bright beginning for pregnant women and a hopeful future for the kids they would give birth to.

Dr Dayo Adeyanju, the National Coordinator of the MAMII programme, said all pregnancies must be well taken care of to achieve healthy beginning under the programme.

Adeyanju added that children must live beyond five years to ensure a hopeful future.

He noted that “President Bola Tinubu has directed the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, to ensure every pregnancy translates to a healthy baby.”

According to him, there is no reason why pregnancy should be a death sentence.

He explained that the MAMII programme is to counter delays that lead to maternal death, either delay in seeking healthcare or delay in receiving healthcare, including reaching healthcare facility.

He explained that part of the strategy was to mobilise women from communities to visit health facilities and ensure they have good transportation.

The coordinator added that caesarean services would also be accessed free at tertiary facilities, which would be extended to general hospitals.

“We are also ensuring that primary and secondary facilities are revitalised to deliver pregnant women safely.

“An accord was signed by the federal, state and local governments. We are all working together to ensure that no woman loses her life while bringing another life.

“We are also leveraging President Tinubu’s political will to ensure that every pregnancy is safe and every child lives beyond the age of five.”

Adeyanju said that the programme would be extended to all parts of the country.

For sustainability, he said every pregnant woman enlisted would be linked to a functional facility where she would access mama kits and a voucher to be transported to the facility for delivery.

On his part, Dr Walter Mulombo, the Country Representative, World Health Organisation, said that for children to be born healthy, a pregnant mother needs to attend at least four antenatal clinic visits.

Mulombo added that pregnant women also need to take measures and seek care when ill.

He lauded the Federal Government health insurance scheme, saying “it helps pregnant women to overcome the financial challenges of accessing healthcare.

“When children are born, they need to get immunised and they need to get all the vaccines they need to grow healthy.

“When they become adolescents, they need to have access to adolescent care, including for girls, access to HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer.”

The WHO country representative also said that the MAMII programme would be a year-long campaign and urged government to continue to invest in healthcare. (NAN)