CSO Coalition Demands Action To Cut Maternal, Newborn Deaths In Nigeria
By Alice Etuka, Abuja
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and health advocates have called for stronger political commitment, increased financing and coordinated action to reduce maternal and newborn deaths in Nigeria, warning that good policies alone will not save lives without effective implementation at the grassroots.
The call was made during a meeting on the implementation of the Collaborative Advocacy Action Plan (CAAP), a partner-led initiative aimed at strengthening advocacy and accountability for commitments on women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health.
Speaking on the need to prioritise women and newborns, the Regional Portfolio Director for Western Central Africa and Country Director, Pathfinder International Nigeria, Dr. Amina Dorayi said every woman and newborn deserved access to quality healthcare regardless of where they lived.
She said achieving the goal of “every woman, every newborn, everywhere” required collaboration among policymakers, healthcare providers, development partners, traditional and religious leaders, communities and other stakeholders.
According to her, resources must be deliberately directed towards ensuring that health workers, medicines, infrastructure and other essential services are available to women and newborns, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
“Every pregnancy is safe, every delivery is safe, every newborn is healthy, every mother that has just given birth is healthy, irrespective of where she has delivered or irrespective of where they live,” she said.
Dorayi identified collaboration and accountability as key lessons from the implementation of the Maternal Newborn Health Acceleration Plan, stressing that no government or organisation could tackle maternal and newborn deaths alone.
She called for greater accountability in the use of funds allocated to the health sector, urging stakeholders to ensure that resources meant for women and children were deployed for their intended purposes.
On the 2030 global target for reducing maternal mortality, she said Nigeria could make progress if efforts were deliberate and sustained.
She therefore urged the government to increase investment in primary healthcare centres and ensure that reforms at the federal level were effectively implemented at state and local government levels.
According to her, technology, including artificial intelligence, should also be explored to accelerate progress towards the 2030 targets.
“It’s not all about treatment, it’s also about prevention. So we need to also invest in health promotion and whatever it takes to ensure women take responsibility for their health,” she said.
Also speaking, the Africa Health Budget Network (AHBN) focal point on CAAP implementation and health security in Nigeria, Khadija Bobboi said CAAP brings government and civil society organisations together to advance women, children and adolescent health.
She explained that the initiative, now in its second year in Nigeria, focuses on four key areas, including health financing, collaboration, adolescent health and well-being, and implementation of the Maternal and Newborn Health Acceleration Plan.
Bobboi said the coalition, led by AHBN involving organisations including Education as a Vaccine and Pathfinder International, was expected to strengthen coordination and accelerate action on agreed health priorities.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Association for the Advancement of Family Planning, Dr. Ejike Oji attributed Nigeria’s continued high maternal and newborn mortality to inadequate implementation of existing policies and insufficient leadership commitment.
“I would say it’s the willpower. If our leaders agree that Nigeria should be a place where no woman should die, it will happen,” Oji said.
He noted that Nigeria had some of the strongest maternal and reproductive health policies and guidelines in Africa but struggled to translate them into results.
According to him, greater attention should be given to the “last mile” of healthcare delivery by identifying facilities and communities with high levels of maternal and newborn deaths and concentrating resources and interventions there.
Oji said successful interventions in high-burden facilities could provide lessons for wider implementation across the country.
He also stressed the importance of civil society organisations working together and speaking with one voice when engaging policymakers.
He said a coordinated approach would make advocacy more effective, reduce duplication of efforts and save the time and resources required when organisations approach policymakers separately.
The CAAP, developed under the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) partner-led approach, seeks to strengthen collective advocacy and accountability around national priorities in maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and adolescent health and well-being.
