*Our Target Is To Register 5,000 Vulnerable Pregnant Women, says Prof Bosede Afolabi
Founder of MRH Research Collective and Prof of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Prof Bosede Afolabi, has hinted that her Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) is working to reduce the high incidence of maternal mortality in Nigeria.
Prof Afolabi spoke to newsmen on Saturday after a carnival-like, #RunForHer programme to create awareness and raise funds for the pet project.
From Admiralty Way, Lekki to Muri Okunola Park, Adeyemo Alakija, Victoria Island, Lagos, thousands of participants, Nigerians and foreigners, displayed their zeal and determination to ensure that
high maternal mortality rate in Nigeria is reduced drastically.
Policemen were around to ensure security of participants who walked and jogged to the Park, and safety officials ensured there was free flow of traffic.
Buses were also available to convey some participants.
According to her, the high maternal mortality rate in Nigeria is unacceptable, hence the need to reduce it.
She said: “This event is the culmination of month-long activities to create awareness in maternal mortality. Nigeria has the highest number of pregnant women dying from pregnancy and childbirth in the whole world.
“In 2020, 82,000 Nigerian women died of pregnancy and childbirth. It is about three times more than the figure in India and India is about five times our population.
“If India could reduce their own, it is important for us to reduce our own. In high-income countries, the total number of women dying of pregnancy and childbirth is usually less than 10 sometimes or less than 20 in one year, but for us, 82,000 is too much – 225 women die daily.
“This campaign is one to actually let people know so that people can be aware and people can be more helpful to pregnant women and let pregnant women know that they should go to the hospital to deliver.
“They shouldn’t stay at home, they shouldn’t go to somebody who is not skilled. This is because it is those giving birth under people who are not skilled that are mostly affected. A lot of women would deliver normally without problem, but the ones that would have problem, there is no way you can know.
“For instance, a woman who registered with ‘Alagbo’ (herbal sellers) will not know what to do if a woman starts bleeding during childbirth.
“Our plan is to register 5000 vulnerable pregnant women who cannot afford it. We have registered 300 already”.
Continuing, Prof Afolabi said; ” It’s my life mission to reduce maternal mortality in Nigeria because I am tired of saying the same thing for decades.
“Those who can not afford to register with qualified practitioners should visit our website at www.mrhrcollective.org to register. The programme itself is called Mama Base Intervention. Mama, for mothers and base for our database. We have employed community health workers that will take care of them from pregnancy to their delivery time”, she added.
Prof. Afolabi, however, said the event is also to create awareness that pregnant women should go and register at public health institutions around them.
“Even when there are functional hospitals, some pregnant women are not going there to register. I went to an outreach the other day at Ijora Badia, and 100 women were registered. I saw about 40 pregnant women, and 36 were not registered when we inquired from them.
“We’ve employed community health workers to help register them, follow them up, ensure they deliver and follow them up after delivery so that they can be safe and so that their children can be safe too.
“We are also going to other states for this awareness programme. My life mission is to reduce maternal mortality in Nigeria, I am tired, we are all tired. We’ve been saying the same thing for decades, it’s time to actually start doing something active about it.
“Indeed, the state of hospitals is also a problem, I know that the government is working towards that, and that’s something we have been making noise about, that’s something that must be corrected”.
She also used the opportunity to thank sponsors of the programme, most especially Sterling One Foundation, Nigerian Breweries, and others who joined her in the project to reduce maternal mortality in Nigeria.
On her part, the Chief Executive Officer of Sterling One Foundation, Olapeju Ibekwe, said the foundation is partnering with MRHRC to reduce maternal mortality rate in the country.
Ibekwe said: “Today, we are having a walk for 5000 pregnant women. We want to ensure that women do not have to die during childbirth in the country. We want to save mother and child during child birth”.
