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Prof. Baba Mallam, the Borno Commissioner for Health and Human Services, recently pointed to a troubling and often overlooked cause of maternal mortality in Nigeria: the indecision of many families when it comes to making crucial health choices.
He argued that such delays in seeking timely medical intervention during childbirth have become a significant factor contributing to the rising number of maternal deaths across the country.
On Monday, Prof. Baba Mallam addressed the issue of maternal mortality in Nigeria during a ceremony in Maiduguri, where he received a donation of two tricycle ambulances from the international NGO, Doctors Without Borders.
The ambulances, designed to provide vital transportation in remote areas, were part of the NGO’s ongoing efforts to enhance healthcare access and reduce delays in medical interventions, especially during childbirth.
He pointed out that the reasons behind the maternal deaths in Nigeria at the time of labor are varied and deeply rooted in both social and healthcare challenges.
“The indecision by the family of the pregnant women during labour has been a major cause of women’s death.
“The indecision comes in because the pregnant women are surrounded by families.
“They tell them, no you can do it. Give it a push and from one hour, two hours, three hours, four hours, after the woman is exhausted they now say you can go to hospital and there is a problem of transportation, she doesn’t have a car and their neighbours do not have a vehicle and, therefore, this adds to the quagmire.”
Mallam highlighted that the latest data reveals a staggering figure—120 Nigerian women lose their lives every hour due to complications during childbirth. He further pointed out that, on the global scale, Nigeria ranks only marginally better than South Sudan and Chad when it comes to maternal mortality, underscoring the urgent need for systemic healthcare improvements.
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“Nigeria contributes 28.9 per cent of maternal deaths in the world,” he said, adding: “It is important for Nigerians to realise this.
“Despite the fact that Nigeria’s economy is one of the best in Africa, our medical indices are very poor.
“We are 200 million now and by 2050 we will be more than 400 million and that will make Nigeria the third largest country, in terms of population after India and China.
“You can imagine how many pregnant women will be dying. At the moment, every two minutes, the country loses a woman during delivery in Nigeria. So, if we spent 10 minutes here, 20 women would have died.”
“So, it is very important we realise this as Nigerians and take everything necessary to mitigate this carnage of young women.
“And that also includes new borns because they also suffer from simple basic problems.
“As I speak here, children are dying from a blockage of airway to breathing and Nigeria is number three or four in the world, in terms of death of new borns,” Mallam said
He described the donation of the emergency transportation system as very crucial. He said the tricycle ambulances in rural communities of Borno would go a long way in saving the lives of many pregnant women.