Health Experts Decry High Maternal, Child’s Deaths in Nigeria

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Medical experts from the Rivers State Ministry of Health, University of Port Harcourt and other institutions have decried high rate of maternal and child’s mortality in Nigeria.

The health experts expressed concerns over the challenge during the dissemination meeting to unveil the Maternal, Perinatal, and Child Death Surveillance and Response (MPCDSR) report for 2023 -2024, held in Port Harcourt, yesterday.

In his remarks, Head of MPCDSR for the State, Dr Douglas Pepple,  recalled that Nigeria is among the top countries with the highest estimated number of maternal deaths, accounting for approximately 23 percent of global maternal deaths. 

Dr Pepple, who is also the National Trainer of Trainers of MPCDSR and Quality of Care for the country, stated that the aim of the meeting was to capture and disseminate to the world what Rivers state has done in the past one year, and find out how they can improve to reduce the mortality rates.

Noting that the dissemination meeting is an international event, Dr Pepple said: “Our colleagues in Luxembourg, Kenya, South Africa, Florida, US, India, all carry out this process. The aim is to ensure that there are no unnecessary deaths for mothers, new borns, children in the country, in Rivers State”.

He stated that the process would be driven down to the local government and communities across the State.

“At the national level, it is working in other states, especially the northern states where is is working effectively already. We want to make sure that mothers, babies, children in our communities do not die unnecessary. If we drive it down to the communities we can prevent that,” Pepple added.

On her part, Productive Health Coordinator, MPCDSR, for Rivers State Ministry of Health, Dr Iroroevwo Smith,  said the idea behind the initiative was to give power back to the facilities to be able to review cases, and also to educate people that MPCDSR is not just something  practiced in facility. 

According to  Smith, “Based on data that was shared today, we realised that eclampsia is a major cause of maternal death in Rivers State. Alot of us have seen a situation where a pregnant woman begin to convulse. We found out that they are preventable.”

To prevent such cases, she explained: “The woman needs to register early during the antenatal period. This condition, eclampsia is noticed earlier based on one symptom, it raises blood pressure. A woman blood pressure should not shoot high.

“We have other signed like protein in the urine and those are the symptoms. Quality care is not one person responsibility, is a team work which includes, not just the facility, but the woman, her family and the community so that she can get the best care and the best output at the end of her pregnancy journey.”

Earlier, while speaking with journalists at the event, Professor of Pediatrics and Child’s Health at the University of Port Harcourt, Prof Alice Nte,  noted the need to empower all general hospitals and modern health centers to be able to deliver quality services for both the mother and the baby. 

She said: “Unless you move to this point, our maternal, prenatal and child mortality indices will remain poor. And I am hoping we will move beyond where we are today”.

Prof Nte, who is also the Chairman, Child Survival Sub Committee, said her committee is working hard to guide the Ministry of Health in actions and decisions that will contribute to the reduction of high under 5 mortality rate towards the Sustainable Development Goal target of 25 per a 1, 000 life birth. 

She stressed that “A child who loses his mother at birth, the chance of that child survival is slim. So it is important for us to do everything to ensure that women have a fair chance to survive.”

“We have talked about facility level issue; community level issue, many women even when the health facility is closest to them, refused to register for antenatal care. Some registered but refused to come to the hospitals, saying that local delivery support and assistance are good.

“But I always tell women that when emergency arise within 15 minutes a woman is dead. So, it is important for you to encourage all women to deliver in health facilities that can provide emergency services, stillbirth attendance,” she stated.