The West African Health Organisation (WAHO), says Nigeria has greatly improved on maternal, Infant and Child health in the country.
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The Director General of WAHO, Dr. Stanley Okolo gave the good news at a Regional Workshop on Dissemination of the Moving Maternal Newborn and Child Health Evidence into Policy (MEP) Project, in Abuja.
The workshop, aimed at Improving the demands for the production and use of evidence in decision-making in maternal, newborn and child health in the ECOWAS region, brought together participants from across West Africa.
He said that Nigeria is doing well as the country’s maternal and child mortality index, though still high has over the years come down.
Dr. Okolo said that Nigeria fully participated in the research which yielded impressive results.
“In Nigeria we have apart three centres that participated. We had a centre in Benin, where they used the texting of women during pregnancy to ensure that women are monitored during pregnancy and child birth and when they have problems, they called somebody. That absolutely showed a reduction in the number of women and children who suffer harm during pregnancy.
“Then there was another one that was done in Bauchi where what they did was to try and understand how to get the family to participate in the pregnancy, so they used video communication to ensure the community participated so that when a woman has a problem during pregnancy, it becomes a problem in pregnancy, it is a problem for the community.
“We have always been traditional people in Africa and so it is really important to get the family to focus on that woman who is pregnant. It does two things. It reduced the number of women who suffer harm,it increased the number number of women who had successful child birth and it also reduced the number of children who were lost to follow up from 15℅ to only 1℅. Then the third was done in Nigeria was how use family support to address the issue of post pattern depression was addressed” Dr. Okolo said.
He said that WAHO has started implimenting the research done in Benin in about ten states in Nigeria.
“We are trying to make sure that all the ones that have been done would be adopted. One of the challenges that WAHO has, which WAHO is tackling is to have a meeting after this meeting, I will have a meeting with individual ministers in the countries where this has been done, to present to them these programmes and ensure that actually it starts being critically escalated within the countries,” he said.
The WAHO DG also said that the research which has span over six years has aligned the researchers with policy makers.
He added that the research is a well representative of the region and would achieve the desired results.
On his part, the Nigeria minister of Health, Dr. Osagia Ehanire, said that
Nigeria was grateful for the Multilateral support West Africa Nations have received from Canada and particularly grateful for Nigeria’s inclusion in this project.
“The project is part of the Canadian initiative, Innovation for Maternal and Child Health in Africa (IMCHA) which has funded eight research projects implemented by six research teams in Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, and Nigeria from 2014 to 2021 in West Africa.
“Nigeria constitutes just one percent of the world population, but accounts for 13% of the world maternal and under-five mortality. Every day, approximately 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. For every woman who dies in childbirth, a lot more suffer injuries, and other form of morbidities,” Dr Ehanire said.
He said that globally an estimated 289, 000 maternal deaths and maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 210 maternal deaths per 100, 000 live births occurred in 2013 and thay Nigeria accounted for 13% of all maternal deaths in 2013. While in 2015, the maternal mortality ratio for Nigeria was 814 per 100,000 live births.
“Even more devastating is the knowledge that, according to research, essential interventions reaching women and babies on time would have averted most of these deaths. It is obvious that we need evidence to combat the burden of Maternal and Infant Mortality,” Ehanire said.
He noted that Research and Development that focus on safe pregnancy, antenatal and delivery, postpartum maternal care, newborn and infant health remain an integral part of the solution to Nigeria’s poor indicators in these areas.
“Increasing our understanding of health-seeking behaviors to inform healthcare interventions will go a long way in reducing maternal and child morbidity and mortality. The federal government of Nigeria has invested significantly in reproductive and child health and this account for progress that has been made so far”. He said.
The minister said that Nigeria will not make progress against existing and emerging global health threats that directly impact on mothers and children without critical investment in research.
He added that the federal government is committed to all avenues suitable for the purpose of expanding the country’s research architecture.
In his address, the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Christopher Thorny, says he believes that the evidence generated from the research projects will become very helpful for future maternal and newborn health programmes in Nigeria.
