The World Health Organisation places Nigeria’s maternal mortality risk at 1 in 22—starkly worse than 1 in 4,900 in developed countries.
Nigeria accounts for 34 per cent of global maternal deaths due to poverty, underfunded health services, and inadequate infrastructure, experts have said.
Speaking to PUNCH Healthwise, professors of gynaecology, Ernest Orji and Kayode Ajenifuja, warned that unless the government urgently funds and reforms maternal care, women will continue to die from preventable complications.
“Women are dying because they are poor, uneducated, and unaware of the dangers of pregnancy,” Orji said, blaming economic hardship and policy failure.
The experts called for free, accessible maternity services, well-equipped facilities, and emergency transport.
Ajenifuja added, “Most women bypass primary centres because they are broken,” blaming Nigeria’s fragmented three-tier health structure and brain drain.
The World Health Organisation places Nigeria’s maternal mortality risk at 1 in 22—starkly worse than 1 in 4,900 in developed countries.
Experts urged nationwide maternal death audits and mandatory family planning access to curb the crisis.
“When mothers die, the consequences are generational,” Ajenifuja warned.