If statistics recently released by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) are accurate, then the health status of Nigerian children remains grave indeed. According to its Executive Director, Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate, the country has the worst maternal newborn and child mortality rates worldwide. An estimated 52,900 women and 250,000 newborn babies die yearly from causes that are largely preventable, Dr. Pate revealed at the official commencement of the distribution of baseline data on primary healthcare facilities by NPHCDA.

It was at the 4th National Conference on Telemedicine and e-Health held recently in Gombe, the Gombe State capital.

A recent United Nations report corroborates this dismal picture. The report reveals that one Nigerian woman dies every three minutes in the country from pregnancy-related complications. In addition, 16 under-5 Nigerian children die every 10 minutes on account of clearly avoidable ailments! This newspaper has consistently expressed worry over these scary statistics, as reflected in past editorials. We are appalled by the implication of these dire statistics: that the nation’s governments have callously turned their backs on two of the most vulnerable groups in the society - children and their mothers.

Though not a few Nigerians are tempted to shrug off these disturbing data as a false alarm, we think it would be irresponsible for any serious government to do so. That the scourge of high infant and maternal mortality rates continues to be highlighted in the country’s human development ranking, year after year, is proof of a fundamental failure in our governance.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), for instance, Nigeria’s infant mortality rate (IMR) stood at 123 per 1,000 live births as at independence in 1960. Nearly 40 years later, at the return of democratic rule in 1999, it was still as high as 112. The WHO-sponsored report, prepared by the Nigeria Reproductive Health Resources and Services Survey (2002), had this to say: “The maternal mortality rate is still unacceptably high in Nigeria. For every 100,000 live births, about 800 die in the process of bringing these precious babies into the world. Out of 27 million women of reproductive age, about two million will not survive either pregnancy or childbirth.”

The report disclosed that as at 2002, Nigeria’s MMR was “almost twice as high as in Botswana and 100 times worse than in industrialised countries.”

A devastating finding, confirming that scarcely any progress has been recorded in primary health care delivery in 50 years of the nation’s independence!

To reverse this tragic trend, the country has to scale up the proportion of births attended to by qualified midwives, which is currently below 40 per cent. In addition, there should be full immunisation of all young children. The NPHCDA holds similar views. Its claim, however, that with 70,000 midwives Nigeria has more than enough is questionable, especially as millions of rural women have no access to qualified midwives before, during and immediately after childbirth.

Truth is, health care delivery should not be taken in isolation of other relevant factors. Proper and up-to-date training is required to ensure the competence of midwives in child delivery. Infrastructural facilities must be made available. How does a pregnant woman in labour get prompt medical attention if she lives in a rural community lacking basic health facilities? If the road to the nearest hospital is in a dilapidated state, and transport scarce or hazardous (e.g. by commercial motorcycles), will that not compound her woes? If she eventually makes it to a clinic and she needs to undergo urgent surgery, what will be her fate if a competent surgeon is not available? And in the absence of stable power supply and clean tap water, is it not obvious that her chances of survival, and her unborn baby’s as well, are slim indeed?

In the light of this we commend the initiative of the Josephine Anenih-led Ministry of Women Affairs in introducing the Child and Maternal Mortality Ambulances scheme. In the first phase launched by the First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, in July, some 49 ambulances went to 16 states. Recently, the Federal Government also approved the disbursement of N450 million for the purchase of the second batch of ambulances for the remaining 20 states. We urge the state and local governments to put these ambulances to maximum use and also complement the Federal Government’s laudable effort.

A more holistic approach, targeting the reduction of mass poverty and illiteracy, is required. Lack of nutrition awareness among pregnant women and lactating mothers is a vital factor, stemming from ignorance. Public enlightenment in this regard must be steeped up. Besides, the National Assembly should ensure the quick passage of the National Health Bill, being sponsored by the Health Minister, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, to lower the cost of procuring healthcare in Nigeria. The Assembly should also ratify the United Nations’ Protocol on the Child. Besides, adequate budgetary allocations to the health sector and effective monitoring budget performance are necessary to get Nigeria out of the current shame of possessing the worst infant mortality rate in the world.

http://www.independentngonline.com/DailyIndependent/Article.aspx?id=21018

We took the liberty of extracting a demographic survey carried out in the Northern part of Nigeria.
Northern Nigeria Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Programme:
Selected Analyses from Population-Based Baseline Survey.

http://benthamscience.com/open/todemoj/articles/V004/11TODEMOJ.pdf?utm_source=MHTF+Subscribers&utm_campaign=9965d91942-MH_BUZZ03_01_2010&utm_medium=email