Maternity Health Services In Nigeria Are Failing Women: 4 Steps To Better Care
The paediatric ward, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Plateau State in Nigeria. Photo by Stefan Heunis/AFP via Getty Images BY OBASANJO BOLARINWA SND REBECCA TADOKERA Nigeria faces one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates. Around 1,047 women die for every 100,000 live births, far above the African regional average of about 531 deaths per 100,000. This highlights the fact that not all women are getting maternal healthcare. Reasons include: differences in access to healthcare between geographical regions socio-demographic factors such as education, poverty, age and limited decision-making power within households religious affiliation, which in some communities shapes health-seeking behaviour limited exposure to health information poverty and unemployment a lack of health insurance. Nigeria has implemented several maternal health programmes over the past two decades. The National Integrated Maternal, Newborn and Child Strategy , Midwives Service Scheme and Free Maternal a...
