The Wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has advised parents to register their children at birth to enable government to effectively plan for the future and for national development.
She made the call on Friday when she visited Karu Primary Healthcare Centre in the FCT to welcome the First Baby of the Year 2021 at the centre.
The baby boy, weighing 3.3kg, was born at 12 a.m. on Jan. 1 into the family of Mr and Mrs Adamu Abubakar, an indigene of Biu Local Government Area of Borno.
Represented by Dr Mairo Almakura, the Special Assistant to the President on African First Lady’s Peace Mission, Buhari said birth registration was fundamental to creating data that would assist government to keep track of the number of children in the country and make provision for their development.
The first lady also advised pregnant women to always go for ante-natal care, practice exclusive breastfeeding and embrace family planning to protect their health and wellbeing of their children and the family at large.
Mrs Justina Maka, the Nurse who delivered the first baby, said “he is in a healthy condition.”
The father of the baby, Mr Aliyu Adamu, thanked the first lady and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and promised to follow the instructions of health professionals in caring for the baby.
The Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen, said 22 healthcare facilities across the FCT were involved in the search for the baby of the year, of which, the Primary Healthcare Centre in Karu came first.
Tallen, who was represented by Mrs Jummai Mohammed, the Director, Child Development in the ministry, assured the public of government’s support to improving the lives of women and children.