50,000 Nigerian Women Die From Pregnancy Annually – FG

No fewer than 50,000 Nigerian women died from pregnancy and childbirth-related causes annually, Dr Salma Anas-Kolo,  Director, Department of Family Health, Federal Ministry of Health, has said.

Salma, who disclosed this in her welcome address at a three-day virtual training for media practitioners organised by Rotary Action Group for Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health, said most of the death are not reported.

She said child death in Nigeria was still very high.

She added:“On a daily basis, we have many women and children dying, larger than COVID-19. Every year, 40,000 to 50,000 women die from pregnancy and childbirth-related causes, but most of them are not reported.”

Noting that over 90 per cent of these deaths in both mothers and children less than five years are preventable, the Director of family health stated “each life is important and every death of a woman or child should be accounted for.”

She further stated that the Federal government was also set to increase the involvement of religious leaders with large followings in giving information about maternal and newborn health, nutrition and child spacing to ensure the quality of life and nation-building.

She announced that Nigeria is set to launch its Family Planning 2030 commitment in line with the global movement supporting the rights of women and girls to decide freely and for themselves if or when to have children.

According to her, the launch is coming on the heels of the importance of family planning to meaningful sustainable development and the Federal government’s commitment to provision and uptake of family planning.

In his remarks, Professor Emmanuel Adedolapo Lufadeju, National Coordinator, National Family Planning Campaign Rotary (RMCH) Nigeria,  said that family planning was important to improve the chances of child survival and population management.