Available data shows that 1:22 Nigerian women die annually from pregnancy related causes. According to WHO, in 2017, Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate was estimated at 917 per 100 000 live births; it increased by nearly 14% in 2020 to reach 1047 deaths.
Without doubt, reducing maternal mortality rate is priority for the Federal Government as being pregnant in Nigeria should be a risk.
Consequently, FMOH is focused on significantly reducing the rate of maternal mortality by 2024. As part of efforts geared towards reversing these ugly indices and actualizing the renewed hope agenda of Mr. President, FMOH under the leadership of CMHSW unveiled the four-point agenda of the health sector:-
Improve Governance-
Improve population health outcome-
Unlocking healthcare value chain-
Provide health security for all Nigerians.
FMOH’s target is to adequately increase human resource for health, currently the ministry is building capacity of 120,000 frontline health workers and part of their training includes skills on essential reproductive health care and other intervention.
Correspondingly, HMSHSW, at the recent 2023 Gender Inclusion Summit explained that FMOH is improving sector wide coordination, especially with its development partners which is key to ensuring funds and resources are accurately spent and used, to improve the wellbeing of mothers and women in Nigeria.
Adding that FMOH will further the implementation of more sustainable programmes, polices, increase intake of more medical students in universities, increase awareness, training programmes and design a national digital platform to support its current Health Care Professionals.