Stakeholders deliberate on supporting safe births in Nigeria

Nigeria’s reported high maternal and newborn deaths has been severely criticised and stakeholders in the health sector are exploring means of enhancing safe birth in Africa’s most populous nation.

According to the World Health Organisation, of the more than 130 million births occurring each year, an estimated 303 000 result in the mother’s death, 2.6 million in stillbirth, and another 2.7 million in a newborn death within the first 28 days of birth. The majority of these deaths occur in low-resource settings and most could be prevented.

The National Demographics and Health Survey (NDHS, 2013) showed that Nigeria loses as many as 576 women per 100,000 childbirths and 37 newborn deaths per 1,000 live births, placing the country among the worst ratios for both maternal and newborn deaths globally.

Safe Birth Initiative (SBI), which was sponsored by Coca-Cola in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health, the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals and a Non- Governmental Organisation, Medshare International Inc. is designed to address this challenge.

The Safe Birth Initiative aims to support the attainment of the SDG targets on maternal and newborn deaths reduction.

It focuses on strengthening the capacity of selected public hospitals through procurement of vital maternal and neonatal medical equipment and supplies.

It also focuses training biomedical engineering technicians to improve equipment maintenance and uptime; and reactivating a large stock of abandoned medical equipment wasting away in public hospitals.

“We have always believed that our healthcare would improve with active collaboration and partnership from the private sector,” Isaac Adewole, Minister of Health, represented by Adedamola Dada, the Chief Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute-Metta, Lagos said.

According to minister, the Safe Birth Initiative is a good example of such a partnership.

“Meticulous planning and identification of the needs of the beneficiary hospitals have been carried out with active involvement of partners and beneficiaries”.

“We commend our partners on this programme, Coca-Cola, the SDG Office, Medshare International and the Engineering World Health and use this opportunity to call on other private sector players to join us in this battle to free our nation from diseases and major challenges in maternal and childhood health,” Adewole said.

“There is a limit to what our doctors and nurses can do with just their skills and passion, in the absence of the vital life-saving equipment required for effective diagnosis, testing and treatment”, said Clem Ugorji, public Affairs and Communications director for Coca-Cola West Africa.

Ugorji said Coca-Cola’s commitment goes beyond donating equipment.

“Through the SBI, the company hopes to promote effective maintenance culture by empowering biomedical engineering technicians with the knowledge, skills, tools and confidence to take responsibility for ensuring maximum uptime for the new equipment.”

“It also aims to empower them on reactivation of abandoned biomedical equipment in the target hospitals,” he said.

Similarly, Bala Yusuf, representing the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, said, “The Coca-Cola Safe Birth Initiative is working towards the third sustainable development goal – Health and Wellbeing for all, including our mothers and our children.

“This partnership is a classic example of what we can do when we combine our expertise and resources in support of the 2030 SDG agenda.”

“We hope this event will strengthen our resolve to continue to work together as policy makers, development practitioners, academics, but more importantly as concerned citizens, in support of the 2030 agenda of the sustainable development goals,” she said.

The official launch of the Safe Birth Initiative and inauguration of the first set of SBI equipment in the country will be performed by the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, at the National Hospital in Abuja next week.

ANTHONIA OBOKOH