CHAPTER ONE
1.0     INTRODUCTION
          Since Nigeria got her independence in the year 1960, the federal government has been doing a lot in the following sectors:- Agric-culture, Education, Industries, Health Services, Banking among others.
          In the area of Health Services, the governments efforts has been to ensure that she achieves good health for all especially women children.  The evidence of her effort is made manifest in the construction of many public health institutions through out the states.  These include the following: Hospitals, Health Centres, Health Clinics, maternities and Mobile Clinics.
          Recently, there has been a general increase towards health improvement, this is as a result of greater awareness, better organization, increased public health consciousness, changes in medical practices among others; however, these advances may appear insignificant when compared to the magnitude of the problems still to be solved especially as it concerns infant diseases and infant mortality.
          According to the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, Mortal means to die; that cannot live forever.  Encyclopedia Britannica expressed the state of being mortal as the state of temporalness of living, or not to live forever.
          In these modern times there have been an increase in world population and stability ad decline in number would be regarded as abnormal.  As Berkley (1958) said, “modern phrase of recent origin started from the peiod of 1600; the growth is quite unprecedented in any comparable period”.  One can view from the above statement, that such changes in population are inherently transitory.
          In countries of West Africa records of health did not start until orthodox medium arrived, but it was recognized prior to the arrival of the white men.  There were high incidence of killer diseases which affected maternal and infant health leading to high mortality of infants. Moreover, the sanitary condition of our local populace, mode of feeding and general condition leaves much to be desired, also lack of health infrastructures created problems that led to high infant mortality.
          Again, other causes of infant mortality are recognized killer childhood diseases viz; measles, malaria, small pox, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis, poliomyelitis, dyphytaria and jaundice.  In late 80’s government of Nigeria through the National Programme on Immunization and Expanded Programme on Immunization has achieved a lot to the improvement of infant health.
          Now, according to recent health journals “Health care” the liming legs are fastly dis appearing, the plague of onchosochaisis caused by the black fly is gone.  Our children and infants are living today without it.  Poliomyelitis is about being kicked out from the shores of our country courtesy of the three months immunization programme of year 2000.