‘Nigeria's Life Expectancy Lowest In West Africa’

• Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi chukwu

Life expectancy in Nigeria is now 47 years, making it the lowest among West African countries, the Project Director, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Prof. Abdulsalam Nasidi, has said.

He said this in Gusau on Thursday at the commencement of the second Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the state’s chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association.
He said it was a situation that was attributable to some health factors, including child and maternal mortality, spread of polio virus and other epidemics.
``One out of every five children die before the age of five years due to polio and other infections.
“Nigeria is one of four countries where polio is still an on-going epidemic,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the Project Director as saying at the forum.
Nasidi said in Zamfara alone, acute lead poisoning had killed more than 400 children and caused brain damage in several others in Anka and Bukkuyum Local Government Areas.
He described lead poisoning in the area as the “worst-ever recorded outbreak of its kind in modern times.’’