Nigeria Health Watch
The quality of healthcare a woman receives during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum is critical as it determines whether she lives or dies. Evidence shows that a majority of the maternal medicines used to treat the leading cause of maternal mortality (postpartum haemorrhage) in circulation in Nigeria are sub-standard. Consumers of sub-standard medicines might never be […]
By Innocent Eteng (Lead Writer) Five years ago, when pregnancy related complications threatened the life of Abisola Oladapo’s new-born baby, she experienced a ‘eureka’ moment. “Unknown to me, my water had broken but I didn’t tell my doctor during my appointment because I thought I’d wet myself and I didn’t want to be judged,” she […]
By Leocadia Bongben (Lead Writer) Jean Firwa and his wife Martha were excited to be expecting a baby after 10 years of trying to conceive. However, neither realised that their joy would be short-lived. On the morning of May 15, 2015, tragedy struck for the couple. Experiencing sharp pains, Martha needed to be transported to […]
By Kelechukwu Iruoma (Lead Writer) Eme Okon was two months pregnant with her third child when she started attending antenatal care (ANC) at the Eyokponung Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Akwa Ibom State of southern Nigeria. This was her first time ever; having not attended ANC during her first and second pregnancies. During her first […]
By Adaobi Ezeokoli & Aloysius Chidiebere Ugwu (Lead Writers) The GEANCO Foundation has intervened in the area of medical missions for orthopaedic surgery in Nigeria since 2011. In 2014, they began to focus on another area of health development — maternal health and nutrition. The Foundation wanted to reach out to underserved pregnant women who were likely to […]
By Anthonia Obokoh (Lead Writer) The maternal mortality rate in Nigeria is 512 deaths per 100,000 live births, and according to the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), 61 percent of live births do not take place in a health facility. About 20% of global maternal deaths occur in Nigeria and more women especially […]
In Nigeria, systemic gaps in the quality of maternal care includes the lack of life-saving medical equipment, the low adoption of the Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) in facilities, and the ineffectiveness of MPDSR platforms and their inability to translate to better quality of care. These are challenges that must be addressed […]
Aloysius Chidiebere Ugwu (Lead Writer) In January 2020, in the middle of the dry season known as harmattan in Nigeria, I was in Kano state performing my duties as a health advocate when I received news from my wife which redefined my plans for the next nine months. “Babe, I think my body is changing, […]
After six months of anxiety, panic and unrest as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical doctors at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) have treated and discharged the last patient in the hospital’s isolation centre. Records from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, as at the time of publication, show that Rivers […]
“This article was produced in collaboration with Maternal Figures, a database of maternal health interventions implemented in Nigeria.” At Amorji Nike Primary Healthcare Centre [PHC] in Enugu East local government council, more than a dozen women with their children wrapped in their arms sit patiently in a waiting room at the premises. The women came […]
Shafa’atu Abubakar, 37, is a mother of ten who lives in Ubandoma, Sifawa town, Bodinga Local Government in Sokoto State. In January 2020, she gave birth to her 10th and last child at the primary health centre in Ubandoma. It was her first experience giving birth at a health centre. Abubakar says prior to this […]
Lagos Island Maternity Hospital is one of the best known public health facilities in Lagos, which has for many years, served communities on Lagos Island and the larger area commonly known as the Island. Located in the heart of Lagos Island, a few metres away from the privately-owned St. Nicholas Hospital, it provides maternity care […]
Every single day, Nigeria loses about 145 women of childbearing age, making her the second largest contributor to the maternal mortality rate in the world, according to UNICEF. When this statistic came out earlier this year, it elicited different responses from different people online, and started up a debate among friends, co-workers and total strangers […]
In continuation of our series to highlight innovative interventions across the Nigerian health sector, Nigeria Health Watch team member Ada Ezeokoli recently visited the ObiJackson Children’s Hospital in Okija, Anambra State, to learn more about how this island of modernity is being positioned to challenge a culture of low expectations in maternal and child health. […]