From Muhammad Ibrahim, Kaduna
A Professor in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Professor Oladapo Shittu, yesterday linked the insurgency unrest witnessed in North-East to rate of maternal mortality in Nigeria.
The Professor disclosed this at a one day sensitization workshop on “Reporting maternal health accountability in Nigeria”, organised by Development Communication (DevCom), for journalists in Kaduna.
According to him, children whose mothers have died have a higher risk of becoming criminals in the society due to lack of mother’s care.
“Maternal Mortality does contribute to the present insurgency in the country; because a child who has lost his mother is more likely to go into crimes than the one whose mother is still alive. So, we must do everything to protect our women from preventable and avoidable deaths during pregnancy,” he said.
Professor Oladapo further lamented over the current insurgency in the North-East, which he said has denied women access to health facilities and led to increase in maternal deaths around that area.
He explained that the insecurity has taken the country backwards in terms of progress, because, according to him, most hospitals and health facilities in the areas battling with the insecurity issue are not functional. “Women and children have been denied access to facilities and they will be going through hell in such areas,” he said.
He added that so far, Nigeria ranked 10 among the 50 worst countries in terms of maternal deaths in the world and said a lot needs to be done to curtail the problem of maternal-related deaths, saying statistics have shown how women are dying in the country on a daily basis.
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