Miss Insurance 2011/2012, Ebere Onuorah has launched a pet project tagged ‘Increasing insurance awareness and reduction in the rate of child and infant mortality.’

Onuorah, who is a staff of Union Assurance Plc, told journalists in Lagos last week that she is undertaking the project as part of her Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative which is expected to win goodwill for the insurance industry.

Onuorah noted that she has two major things in mind which are to bring an increase in insurance awareness in Nigeria as well as to use her office in a way that the insurance industry will be able to give back to the society.

While explaining that infant mortality is death of a child born alive before its first birthday while child mortality is the death of a child aged between 1 and 5, Onuorah stated that infant and child mortality is major menace which has defiled many solutions.

She identified some causes of deaths to include infections, protein calorie malnutrition, birth trauma, lack of safe water, malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia as well as measles and added that most of the causes of death are preventable, hence the essence of her project.

In her words “Research and experience has shown that six million children who die every year should be saved by low tech, cost effect measures such as vaccines, antibiotics, micronutrient supplement, insecticide treated mosquito bed nets, family care and breast feeding.

Researchers at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of public Health and World Health Organisation (WHO) have developed the most accurate estimate to determine the causes of death of children under five. According to their studies, four non- communicable diseases categories account for 54 per cent of all child death globally.

Pneumonia accounts for 19 per cent, diarrhea 17 per cent, malaria eight per cent and neonatal sepsis 10 per cent. Under nutrition is an underlining cause of more than half of all deaths before five while more than 37 per cent of all child death occurs the first 28 days of life, the neonatal period.”

According to Onuorah, the Minister of Health Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu said the first 28 days of life (neonatal period) is a critical time for the survival of the child. “Every day in Nigeria, about 700 babies die (around 30 every hour) this is the highest number of new born deaths in Nigeria and second highest in the world.”

She stated that it is important for all that insurance becomes a household name in Nigeria adding “ I believe everybody need insurance but we must build the right recognitions to enable Nigeria public key into it.” Onuorah stressed she is going to sound the message loud that insurance is not just about the premium one pays but about the service they get.