Little educated cultures, lack of precarious doctors and equipment in hospitals are major obstacles to overcome in Nigeria.
In 2023, Nigeria was responsible for more than a quarter – 29% – of all maternal deaths worldwide, reports. It is estimated that 75,000 women die during delivery in a year, which corresponds to One death for every seven minutes.
Obstruction of delivery, hypertension and insecure abortions, which often cause large Hemorrhagesare at the top of the problem.
“No woman deserves to die while giving birth to a child,” says Mabel Onwuemena, national coordinator of the Women of Purpose Development Foundation.
And a big problem goes through education, or lack of it. Many women, especially in rural areas, They believe that “visiting hospitals is a total waste of time”, Says onwuemena, and choose “traditional medicines instead of looking for medical help, which can delay the care that saves lives.”
And then there is the question that medical care is too precarious. “Many health care facilities do not have basic equipment, materials and staff formedwhich makes it difficult to provide a quality service ”.
“When I was having my fourth child, there were complications during delivery. The local midwife advised us to go to the hospital, but when we arrived therethere was no health professional available to help me. I had to go home and it was there that I ended up giving birth, ”explains Jamila Ishaq, a 28 -year -old who awaits his fifth son.Honestly, I don’t trust hospitals much, there are too many stories of neglectespecially in public hospitals. ”
The Nigerian government spends 5% of its health budget on health (it had committed to spend 15%).
Last November, the Nigerian government launched the pilot phase of the Innovation Initiative to reduce Maternal Mortality (Mami). This initiative should cover 172 local government areas in 33 states, which are responsible for more than half of all deaths related to delivery in the country.
“Your success depends on a sustained financingof effective implementation and continuous monitoring to ensure that the intended results are achieved, ”he says, however Martin Dohlsten of the Unicef Nigerian Office.
After Nigeria, maternal mortality during births is also worrying in Chad, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Liberia, Somalia, Afghanistan, Benim and Guinea-Bissau.
