Gombe, UNICEF train 104 health workers to curb newborn deaths

By Elizabeth Ogunjobi

The Gombe government and UNICEF have trained 104 frontline health workers to improve newborn survival amid persistently high neonatal mortality across northern Nigeria.

The two-day training covered 48 workers from secondary healthcare facilities, following a separate programme for 56 primary healthcare workers.

Dr Abdulrahman Shuaibu, Executive Secretary of the Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency, said strengthening newborn care was critical to reducing preventable deaths.

Speaking in Gombe on Thursday, Shuaibu said many babies were born in communities before being referred to secondary facilities for specialised care.

“Therefore, it is important to strengthen the capacity of healthcare workers at these facilities to provide appropriate care for newborns,” he said.

He said neonatal and infant mortality remained high in the state, requiring coordinated efforts by government, healthcare providers and development partners.

“It is our hope and prayer that this training will contribute to a significant decline in neonatal mortality across our communities,” he said.

Shuaibu urged participants to share their knowledge with colleagues who did not attend, ensuring that more facilities could deliver effective newborn care.

He said the programme complemented government efforts to upgrade primary and secondary healthcare facilities, while commending UNICEF and other development partners for their support.

Mr Oluseyi Olosunde, a UNICEF health officer at its Bauchi Field Office, said the training was organised to commemorate the 2026 World Prematurity Day.

Olosunde said the initiative focused on improving the quality of care provided to newborns, particularly premature babies and those requiring specialised attention.

“Every child deserves to live, and to make every child enjoy this right to life, the quality of care is important,” he said.

He said the training targeted nurses, midwives and doctors involved in caring for women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period.

“We are training them to ensure that the mother survives, every woman survives, and every child survives,” he said.

Olosunde described newborn deaths as unacceptably high in many northern states, stressing the importance of strengthening healthcare workers’ skills.

He urged participants to apply their knowledge to improve services and protect the lives of mothers and babies under their care.

Dr Raymond Mercy, a consultant paediatrician at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, also urged healthcare workers to prioritise proper newborn care.

Mercy, a member of the Paediatric Association of Nigeria and the Nigerian Society of Neonatal Medicine, said Nigeria’s neonatal mortality rate stood between 34 and 41 deaths per 1,000 live births.

She said Nigeria had the world’s second-highest burden of neonatal mortality, underscoring the urgency of improving newborn healthcare nationwide.

Gombe, UNICEF train 104 health workers to curb newborn deaths

NHRC Orders Probe into Alleged Misconduct at Uyo Office

By: Michael Mike

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has ordered an immediate investigation into allegations of unprofessional conduct by its personnel at the Akwa Ibom State office in Uyo following a video circulating on social media.

The Commission said the allegations were being treated with serious concern, stressing that its personnel were expected to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and respect for the rights and dignity of complainants, irrespective of provocation.

In a statement issued on Thursday by its Director of Corporate Affairs and External Linkages, Fatimah Agwai Mohammed, the NHRC said its Executive Secretary, Chief Tony Ojukwu, had directed an immediate investigation to establish the facts surrounding the incident.

It said appropriate administrative action would be taken in accordance with existing rules if any infraction was established.

The Commission emphasised that its responsibility to protect human rights must begin with the treatment of people who approach its offices for assistance, adding that every complainant deserved to be treated with dignity, respect and professionalism.

“Our professional training is that at no point in time should a complainant be charged against even if there is provocation,” the statement said.

The NHRC reiterated its commitment to ensuring accessible, free, timely and accountable service delivery, urging members of the public experiencing difficulties in accessing its offices to report such cases through its toll-free line, 6472.

The Commission’s response follows the circulation of the video alleging misconduct at its Uyo office, with the investigation expected to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and determine whether any disciplinary action is warranted.

NHRC Orders Probe into Alleged Misconduct at Uyo Office

China, Nigeria Target Billion-Dollar Opportunities as Filmmakers Push Co-production, Market Access

By: Michael Mike

Nigeria and China are seeking to turn their growing cultural relationship into a stronger commercial partnership in film, with filmmakers from both countries exploring co-production, technology transfer and distribution opportunities that could open up two major audiences to each other’s creative industries.

The push gained momentum at the Chinese Film Screening in Nigeria 2026 in Abuja, where industry stakeholders identified the combination of Nigeria’s storytelling strength and China’s cinema infrastructure, capital and distribution expertise as a potential pathway to expanding the global reach of their productions.

The discussions also highlighted a major challenge facing the proposed partnership: translating cultural exchanges and diplomatic goodwill into concrete business arrangements that enable filmmakers to secure investment, distribute their works across borders and earn sustainable returns.

The Director of the China Cultural Centre in Nigeria, Mr Yang Jianxing, said film remained an important bridge for strengthening understanding between the two countries, whose creative industries offered considerable scope for collaboration.

“China and Nigeria share a deep-rooted traditional friendship and close people-to-people exchanges, and film serves as an important bridge for fostering mutual understanding between our peoples,” he said.

Jianxing said cooperation had expanded through reciprocal film screenings, professional exchanges, festivals and the distribution of productions across national borders.

The partnership involving the Chinese Embassy, the China Cultural Centre and StarTimes Nigeria has helped bring Chinese film and television productions to Nigerian audiences through initiatives including a month-long showcase, the Chinese Women’s Film Festival and screenings of works dubbed or subtitled in local languages, including Hausa.

“StarTimes has successfully brought outstanding Chinese productions and knowledge series to a broader audience,” he said.

He added that Nigerian films had also reached mainstream Chinese digital media platforms, exposing audiences there to Nigerian stories, characters and experiences.

The commercial potential of the relationship was underscored by Fidelis Duker, founder of the Abuja International Film Festival, who said discussions with the Chinese delegation had focused on production, distribution and co-production opportunities, including engagements with Nigerian film institutions and plans to meet distributors and cinema operators in Lagos.

Duker argued that the population sizes of the two countries presented an opportunity to expand the reach of their film industries, provided that investment, technology and distribution networks were developed to support the exchange of content.

“What we found out today, or what we’ve known over the years, is that China has technology,” he said, adding that the Chinese delegation had told participants that China sold 1.3 billion cinema tickets in the previous year.

China’s film market provides an indication of the scale of the opportunity. According to figures released by the China Film Administration, the country generated 51.832 billion yuan in box-office revenue in 2025, while cinema attendance reached 1.238 billion. Domestic productions accounted for nearly 80 per cent of total box-office receipts, and the country ended the year with 93,187 cinema screens.

The figures illustrate the scale of China’s production and exhibition ecosystem, offering Nigerian filmmakers potential access to a market where locally produced content commands a substantial share of cinema revenue.

For Nigeria, the opportunity extends beyond exporting completed films. Collaboration could also create avenues for joint productions, technical training, improved post-production capacity and the development of distribution arrangements that give Nigerian stories a wider international audience.

Duker said the combination of Nigerian creativity and Chinese industrial capacity could be particularly valuable to both sides.

“When you marry Nigerian narrative vitality with China’s technical infrastructure, capital, and unparalleled distribution expertise, you can imagine” the possibilities, he said.

The Chinese delegation, led by Bai Yimin, chairman of Huaxia Film Distribution Company Limited, also emphasised the contribution of cinema to bilateral relations.

Bai said cooperation between the countries had produced results through reciprocal film festivals, professional exchanges, and the translation and broadcasting of films.

“In recent years, cooperation in the film industry has become a brilliant chapter in China-Nigerian cultural and people-to-people exchanges,” he said.

He added that the Chinese Embassy and the China Cultural Centre would continue to support initiatives using cinema to connect audiences and strengthen relations between the two countries.

The screening coincided with the 23rd Abuja International Film Festival, which received 10 Chinese film entries this year, five of which were nominated for awards. Duker said Chinese films had featured in 22 of the festival’s 23 editions, reflecting a longstanding relationship between the event and China’s film industry.

He also credited StarTimes with supporting the festival over the years, saying the relationship had contributed to its growth.

Three films were screened at the event: The Shadow’s Edge, Blades of the Guardians: Wind Rises in the Desert and The Lychee Road.

The screening comes against the backdrop of broader efforts to deepen Nigeria-China cooperation in the creative sector. In August 2026, the Nigerian Television Authority and China Movie Channel signed a strategic cooperation agreement aimed at promoting film co-production, technology transfer, professional training and wider distribution of creative content.

The agreement, announced at the China-Nigeria Film and Literature Symposium in Abuja, signalled an interest in moving cultural relations beyond the exchange of finished productions towards more structured industry collaboration.

The latest engagements at the film festival could build on that momentum by bringing filmmakers, distributors, cinema operators and production institutions into discussions about the practical requirements of cross-border business.

However, access to a large audience does not automatically translate into commercial success. Nigerian and Chinese productions seeking to enter each other’s markets will need effective distribution partners, appropriate subtitling and dubbing, marketing support, clear licensing arrangements and investment structures that protect the interests of participating filmmakers.

Differences in audience preferences, language, production practices and market regulations will also need to be addressed if joint projects are to attract viewers and generate revenue.

For Nigeria, the immediate priority is to ensure that its creative talent benefits commercially from international partnerships rather than limiting participation to festival appearances and cultural showcases. For China, deeper engagement with Nollywood offers an avenue to broaden the international reach of its productions while building relationships with one of Africa’s most prominent film industries.

The success of the partnership will ultimately depend on whether the two countries can turn screenings and professional exchanges into financed co-productions, regular content distribution and lasting commercial relationships.

With both sides signalling interest in closer collaboration, the emerging challenge is to build an industry-to-industry framework capable of converting shared cultural interests and large populations into tangible opportunities for filmmakers, distributors and audiences.

China, Nigeria Target Billion-Dollar Opportunities as Filmmakers Push Co-production, Market Access