Nigeria contributes 23% of deaths from maternal mortality globally – Expert

Dr Mary-Ann Etiebiet, Lead Consultant, Maternal Safety Data, an NGO, has said that Nigeria Contributes 23 per cent of deaths from maternal mortality, globally.
Etiebiet, who spoke on Thursday in Abuja, at the 2019 “Future of Health Conference”, expressed worry over the prevalence of such deaths in Nigeria.
“No woman should die while giving birth to a child; MSD is focused on creating a world where no woman has to die at childbirth,” she said at the conference that has the theme: “Time to Focus on Quality Healthcare: Improving Outcomes”.
The lead director regretted that the deaths were preventable, and challenged stakeholders to strive toward ending the trend where lives would be lost in the process of bringing new lives.
“Nigerians like to be number one in everything. But we should not want to be number one in maternal mortality which we are, today. I am happy that we are all here to change that narrative,” he said.
She stated that maternal mortality had increased by 50 per cent since 2000, urging the government to improve the quality of healthcare to reduce the trend.
Etiebiet shared touching stories about mothers dying while giving birth in Cross River State, and emphasised the urgent need to initiate and sustain efforts to reduce such deaths.
“When death occurs, don’t assign blames. Investigate it to prevent recurrence.
“Women should be encouraged to go through the ante-natal processes. Nigerian mothers should have access to information, quality and affordable healthcare in the country,” she pleaded.
She, however, added that for the country to end maternal mortality, the government must provide a quality maternal healthcare, improve water supply and sanitation, and ensure more respect for women.
Also speaking, Dr Olujimi Coker, acting Chief Executive Officer of Lagoon Hospitals, in Lagos, said that government must improve communication if it was serious about tackling maternal mortality.
Coker said that effective communication between doctor and patient, and between one health worker and the other, especially during handover, was critical.
He acknowledged that what the health workers see as quality was different from what patients see as quality.
“Health workers are more focused on outcomes while patients are more focused on the experience,” he said.
He said that quality of healthcare was not expensive, adding that the most effective way to prevent hospital infections was proper hand hygiene using soap and water.