Nigeria accounts for 25% of global maternal deaths, UN says
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Daily Trust
The UN says Nigeria accounts for at least 25% of maternal deaths worldwide, while one Nigerian woman in 22 risks dying during pregnancy or childbirth. In Abuja, UN Women representative Beatrice Eyong called for concrete action against social and economic factors, according to Daily Trust.
Nigeria accounts for at least 25% of maternal deaths recorded worldwide, Beatrice Eyong, UN Women representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, said on Wednesday in Abuja during the second annual conference of the National Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Network.
One Nigerian woman in 22 faces the risk of dying during pregnancy or childbirth in her lifetime, compared with about one in 4,000 women in developed countries, according to Beatrice Eyong. She called on the government, development partners, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to address the social and economic factors behind these deaths.
The UN Women representative called for concrete recommendations to prevent gender-based violence, protect human rights defenders, improve access to justice and implement existing laws and international commitments. The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, reaffirmed that reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health was a government priority for strengthening the health system, according to his representative John Uruakpa.
The conference came the day after Google announced funding for Helium Health’s artificial intelligence against maternal deaths in Nigeria, published on 4 November. Youth Minister Olawande Ayodele also said that young people could not participate fully in governance and economic development without access to safe and equitable sexual and reproductive health information and services.
