The Federal Government has developed a new Safe Motherhood strategy as part of efforts to accelerate the reduction of maternal and new-born morbidity and mortality in Nigeria.
The Coordinating Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, announced this on Monday in Abuja at a news conference to commemorate the 2024 National Safe Motherhood Day.
Marked annually on April 11, the 2024 theme is “Investing in Maternal Health for a Sustainable Future,” with the slogan “Mother Lives, Child Thrives”.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said put Nigeria’s Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in 2017, at 917 per 100,000 live births. It increased by nearly 14 per cent in 2020 to reach 1,047 deaths per 100,000 live births.
WHO attributed some of the deaths to severe hemorrhage, infection, high blood pressure during pregnancy, complications during childbirth and unsafe abortion.
According to Pate, the guidelines for the management of Postpartum Hemorrhage (PPH) in the community and health facility are being developed alongside other documents.
“The document ‘Management of Preeclampsia/Eclampsia; use of Antenatal Corticosteroids in Preterm Births and Labour Care Guide’ would be used alongside Partograph (a tool for monitoring maternal and foetal wellbeing during the active phase of labour).
“This is till the scale up is achieved in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),” he said.
He also inaugurated the calibrated drape, a simple tool aimed at significantly reducing PPH by accurately measuring blood loss during childbirth thus leading to early detection.
Pate said that by incorporating the calibrated drape into maternal health protocols, monitoring and managing haemorrhage could be better done, ultimately saving the lives of mothers and their children.
He added that in line with the agenda of improving quality of care and health outcomes of pregnant women, the federal government would support the local production of calibrated drape and magnesium sulphate.
He advised that each pregnant woman should have access to one calibrated drape.
Pate said that one of the leading causes of maternal mortality was PPH, accounting for a significant proportion of maternal deaths worldwide.
“In the same light, mortality rate among new born, often attributed to birth asphyxia and complications related to premature births are equally alarming.
“These statistics are not just numbers, but represent real mothers, wives, sisters, aunts, nieces, children, and babies.
“We have made progress but it is not enough, every death of a mother is an unfortunate incident and there is no level of maternal mortality that is acceptable.
“In spite of the progress that we have seen, PPH remains a very important cause of maternal mortality and new born mortality, asphyxia and complications of preterm,”he said.
The minister, however, said that maternal health was a fundamental human rights issue hence; every woman deserved access to quality healthcare before, during, and after childbirth, regardless of her socio-economic status or geographic location.
“It is incumbent upon us, as leaders and advocates, to uphold this basic right and work tirelessly towards its realisation.
“We must ensure there is quality healthcare in reducing maternal mortality, women should have access to basic emergency obstetric care, comprehensive emergency obstetric care in our facilities alongside the commodities necessary to ensure safety at birth.
“Our strategic blueprint, to “save lives, reduce both physical and financial pain and produce health for all Nigerians” is anchored around Nigeria’s progress towards Universal Health Coverage.
“The Sector Wide Approach (SWAp), a component of our strategic blueprint through the Decentralised Facility Financing (DFF) package targets about seven million pregnancies and over six million new births annually”, he said.
He said though Nigeria was not there yet, it remained the aim to ensure that no woman was left behind when it comes to access to quality maternal care skilled birth attendants.
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Speaking to the theme of the commemoration, he said it was apt as it called on all stakeholders to work together to ensure that no woman dies from pregnancy and childbirth related conditions.
He also said that it would ensure that every new born was protected and assisted to thrive into healthy childhood.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that National Safe Motherhood Day aims at creating awareness and generating public dialogue on interventions that promote maternal and new-born health and survival within an integrated continuum of care. (NAN)
