The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said that no less than 60,480 women die while giving birth every year in various parts of the country.
According to the UN agency, they are not just numbers, but mothers, daughters, sisters, compatriots, and future leaders lost to preventable causes.
The mortalities alarm was raised yesterday in Maiduguri by the UNICEF Chief of Maiduguri Field Office, Francis Busiku Butichi, while launching the distribution of 8,350 Mama Kits to 13 maternal and neonatal innovation and reduction initiatives in Borno State.
Butichi stated that the kits are to be used to crash maternal and newborn mortalities in the 13 targeted Local Government Areas (LGAs), including Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) and Jere Council of the state.
He, however, lamented that the state has been identified in Nigeria as contributing a significant proportion to maternal and neonatal mortalities, noting that every day, women face life-threatening risks for bringing new life into the world.
The UNICEF Chief Office attributed the mortalities to the five delays: while seeking, reaching, receiving care, and taking responsibility, and the delays in coordination.
He added, “The maternal and neonatal reduction innovation and the initiative align with UNICEF’s core mandate to protect children and women.”
He further revealed, “The agency’s mandate is to ensure that no woman dies giving birth, and every child is given the chance to survive, thrive, and develop into their full potential.”
He noted that the mortalities reduction innovation and initiative emphasise community engagement and mobilization, skilled birth attendance, and emergency obstetric and newborn care that are particularly vital in Borno State.
Butichi lamented that access to health services is occasionally disrupted by insecurity and the massive displacement of people.
On the part of UNICEF, he said, “We’ve provided 3,700 Mama Kits that are pre-packaged and contain essential items for clean and safe childbirth.
“The distributed kits also send a message to every woman that her life matters a lot to family members and the communities,” he advised, adding that the Mama Kits also encourage women to seek skilled care by bridging the gap between traditional practices and modern health services.
He therefore urged stakeholders, government, traditional leaders, civil society, and development partners to scale up the maternal and neonatal reduction innovation and initiative (MAMII) intervention.
Governor Babagana Zulum, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Human Services, Alhaji Babagana Kadai, said that the state government has accorded topmost priority to the health sector by earmarking 16% of its annual budget.
The accord of priority, he noted, was to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030.
