Maternal Death: DEVCOMS, NURHI Strengthen Advocacy on Maternal Death …Seeks Media Collaboration

Maternal Death: DEVCOMS, NURHI Strengthen Advocacy on Maternal Death

…Seeks Media Collaboration

Zainab Tanimu –Kaduna, NIGERIA

Maternal death has been a very worrisome issue that many nations of the world had tried to address. While some had recorded measurable achievements, some are yet to actualize this dream due to several challenges of which Nigeria is one.

Maternal death simply put is a death of a woman which occurs as a result of pregnancy related issues.

Current statistics have shown that maternal and neonatal health status in Nigeria is among the worst, the world over.

A Media Expert, Iliya Kure, made this revelation in his presentation, Titled, Maternal Death: ‘The Northern Nigerian Situation’ during a two day training workshop organized by Development Communications Network (DEVCOMS) in collaboration with Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI) at Bafra hotel, Kaduna.

He had expressed concern over the increase in maternal death rate in Nigeria. Particularly,  the situation in the northern part of Nigeria. He said rather than the situation improving, it is getting worse.

“According to the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), the country’s maternal mortality ratio was given as, five hundred and seventy –six  lives per every one hundred thousand (576 per 100,000) live births.

The 2015 survey shows eight hundred and fifteen recorded death out of every one hundred thousand woman (815 per 100,000) which shows that we are not improving. This is to say the system is bad.

“Most of these maternal deaths were as a result of bleeding after delivery, (Hemorrhage accounts for 26% of the death) Post-delivery infection, (sepsis), prolonged obstructed labor, eclampsia (hypertensive diseases of pregnancy), unsafe abortion and malaria.

Malaria contributed more than one-tenth of the maternal deaths in Nigeria at the given period.

The good thing is that these diseases and conditions are preventable and readily treatable”. He said.   This revelation according to him is a bad reflection of the country’s health system as such much is still needed to be done.

“Northern Nigeria is pulling the country backward. It is discovered that in every 20minutes, a woman dies in the northern part of Nigeria. A look at the average number of live births per woman in Nigeria in terms of fertility will give a clear picture of the situation.

North- West 7.3, North- East 7.2, North- Central 5.4, South- West 4.5, South- East 4.8 and South -South 4.7.

“A quarter of the death tolls within the under-five age group in Nigeria are newborns. That has conservatively been given as totaling two hundred and forty-one thousand babies, (241,000) under-five age group babies die per annum in Nigeria.

Nigeria neonatal death rate (the death of babies within the first one month; 28days of life) as calculated by the NDHS, from 2008 to 2013 was 37 per every one thousand (37 per 1,000) live birth within the period.

This signifies that Nigeria has not fared well in addressing the issue of maternal death”.

Survey carried out in communities he said has shown that high number of women die as a result of pregnancy related issues. Child Spacing (family planning) therefore is the way out to reducing maternal death. He stressed.

“The wider use of family planning can prevent 30% of maternal death. We must ensure effective child-spacing services as this would give the woman ample time to rest”.

The family planning advocate however identified some of the prevailing forces militating against the women from accessing primary health care services to include among others, the economic status of the woman which reduces their chances of decision making in addressing issues affecting them as well as the harmful traditional practices and lack of education.

He had frowned on the practice where some prayer houses are being converted to all- purpose healing and maternity centers where money is being extorted from the women.

The social economic factors in which pregnant women are exposed to doing heavy work he had identified as part of the reasons why complications arise during delivery.  He lamented.

Iliya called on the government to put necessary machinery in place to improve on emergency care for women facing complications during delivery.

Government should also equip and upgrade health centers as well as ensure quality service of health workers by organizing training s, workshops/seminars to enable them deliver.

He had expressed hope that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) presently enforced yield a better result saying, the earlier introduced Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) could not be realized.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), otherwise known as the Global Goals, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. These Goals (SDGs) are more globally collaborative than the millennium development goals (MDGs)

In respect of the SDG Goal No. 5, ‘Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, he appealed that much efforts be directed to realizable.

“We do budget, but it doesn’t speak to our issue. We make policy but don’t implement it.  Nigeria is not doing better as a nation. Our leaders have failed to prioritize the needful. Government is not investing much on health especially that of our women and children. How well you take care of your women and children speaks well of you as a nation. Not until we start doing things correctly, we would not get there”. He ended.

Earlier in her opening address, The Program Officer, Development Communications Network, Omobonike Adebayo had expressed worries over the alarming report of the World Health Organization (WHO) which says, “statistics of 2015 had estimated maternal death tolls in Nigeria to be fifty-eight (58,000) death annually, which constituted about 19 per cent of the global estimate of 303,000 maternal death.

The DHS Final Report, Nigeria 2008 says Adolescent fertility rate is high (121 reported births per 1,000 women aged 15–19 years) affecting not only young women and their children’s health but also their long-term education and employment prospects.

Births to women aged 15–19 years old have the highest risk of infant and child mortality as well as a higher risk of morbidity and mortality for the young

mother.

Also revealed is that, Unmet need for contraception is high at 20 percent.

Women with unmet needs are those who are fecund and are sexually active but are not using any method of contraception and report not wanting any more children.

These  reports she said had given them concern as such Development Communications Network (DEVCOMS) in collaboration with Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI) decided to  organized a workshop in order to collaborate with the media to find possible way forward to changing the record.

Omobonike charged the Bloggers and Social Media operators to give optimal attention to the prevailing situation by assisting in disseminating Information that would help in bringing about positive change.