Why Nigeria is witnessing increased mortality, morbidity rate

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on health, Salma Anas, has said the poor attention to the Primary Health Care (PHC) system to Nigeria’s high morbidity and mortality rates, especially among those with pregnancy-related conditions.

Ms Anas said thus while speaking at the ongoing 7th annual conference of the Association of Nigeria Health Journalists (ANHEJ) in Akwanga, Nasarawa State.

She said the PHCs have issues of low healthcare coverage for life-saving interventions. Other problems, according to her, include ill-equipped and weak service delivery systems and low coverage with community and household-level interventions.

She noted that PHC is the fulcrum for a resilient health system and should be structured to be able to deliver services that will support the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and guarantee health security.

“In Nigeria, the PHC level of care has received the least attention and continues to add to the burden of morbidity and mortality especially due to pregnancy-related conditions making it the weakest link of the health service delivery system,” she said.

Also speaking on the integrated system that we are promoting, she said, “our aspiration is to ensure that as soon as a pregnant woman visits a healthcare facility, the quality and level of care she requires to deliver a healthy child is assured including the payment for the services she would receive, ensuring that she is covered under one form of health insurance or the other.”

The ANHEJ conference is themed, ‘Health Security: Nigeria’s effort to achieve Universal Health Coverage’.

Maternal mortality and PHC

Ms Anas said Nigeria is a major contributor to the global burden of maternal and newborn deaths despite being about three per cent of the world’s population.

She said Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is also responsible for about 30 per cent of the world’s gap in achieving the global target of eradicating Mother-To- Child Transmission of HIV.

She said some socio-economic challenges contributing to preventable diseases and deaths also include general poor health-seeking behaviour due to poor literacy and socio-cultural factors, long distances to health facilities, poverty and lack of access to water, sanitation and hygiene, among others.

She, however, said the current administration is determined to leave a legacy of a resilient PHC system in addressing existing challenges.

“The success of the interventions will be built on strong accountability mechanisms and renewed partnership models between the government, development partners, private sector, Civil Society Organisations, the community and the media,” she said.

Nigeria in retrospect

Nigeria’s maternal .ortality rate is one of the highest in the world, with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa saying that one in seven global maternal deaths occurs in Nigeria. That is more than 50,000 women dying per year in Nigeria.

A 2023 report, titled: ‘Improving maternal and newborn health and survival and reducing stillbirth: Progress Report 2023’, shows that Nigeria accounts for the second-highest number of maternal and child deaths globally, after India.

The report noted that in 2020, about 788 women and children died ‘per thousand’ in India and about 540 women and children ‘per thousand’ died in Nigeria.

In the same year, India accounted for 17 per cent of global maternal, and neonatal deaths and stillbirths, while Nigeria accounted for 12 per cent.

Eight other countries with high maternal, neonatal , and stillbirths are Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Afghanistan, and the United Republic of Tanzania.

The report estimates that globally, there were a combined 4.5 million maternal, neonatal deaths and stillbirths in 2020.

Improving health through vaccination

Speaking at the event, the CEO of Vaccine Network for Disease Control (VNDC), Chika Offor, said vaccine advocacy by journalists is vital for public health education, countering vaccine hesitancy, holding authorities accountable, building trust, and fostering dialogue.

Ms Offor said VNDC role in disseminating accurate and reliable information is crucial to ensuring the success of vaccination campaigns and protecting public health.

She said that VNDC aimed to address key health challenges faced by children and women in the country, such as vaccine-preventable diseases and maternal health issues.

“Trust in vaccines and public health authorities is crucial for successful vaccination campaigns in any nation. ANHEJ can contribute to building trust by reporting on the rigorous scientific process behind vaccine development, testing, and approval,” she said.

“ANHEJ can also highlight the positive impact of vaccines on public health, sharing success stories and real-life examples of how vaccines have saved lives and prevented diseases.”

She noted that the partnership with ANHEJ will signify a collaborative effort to prioritise and improve healthcare services for these vulnerable populations.