Stakeholders in Nigeria’s health sector are calling for increased financial investment to reduce the country’s high rates of maternal and newborn mortality. The push for more funding comes as experts warn that existing efforts must move beyond mere access to focus on the actual quality of clinical care.
Pavel Ursu, the World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Nigeria, noted that while financial incentives could encourage more families to seek essential maternal and newborn services, increased attendance alone is not a solution. He emphasised that any rise in the number of women accessing healthcare must be matched by a significant improvement in the quality of care provided.
The call for intensified investment was part of discussions held by health stakeholders aimed at addressing the persistent mortality crisis in the country.
Bridging the gap between access and quality
Nigeria continues to face significant challenges in maternal and neonatal health, with many preventable deaths occurring due to lack of skilled attendance, poor facility infrastructure, and inadequate medical supplies. While various government and non-governmental programmes have attempted to increase the uptake of antenatal and postnatal services, the outcome for many mothers and infants remains critical.
Ursu’s warning points to a recurring issue in the Nigerian healthcare system: the disparity between facility utilisation and clinical outcomes. In many parts of the country, even when women reach a healthcare facility, the lack of essential medicines, functional equipment, and trained specialists often results in complications that could have been managed.
The economic burden of maternal and newborn deaths also affects the broader Nigerian economy, as it impacts workforce productivity and increases the long-term healthcare costs for families and the state. Addressing these deaths is a core component of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically Goal 3, which aims to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births.
To achieve these targets, stakeholders argue that investment must be directed toward three primary areas: training and retaining skilled healthcare workers, equipping primary healthcare centres with essential tools, and ensuring the availability of emergency obstetric and newborn care.
The challenge remains how to secure sustainable funding from both the government and private sector to move these interventions from policy to practical, high-quality service delivery at the community level.
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