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In addressing the alarming maternal mortality rate, Nigeria has launched a free cesarean sections (C-sections) program to vulnerable women and girls in rural areas of the country.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Nigeria ranks fourth globally in maternal mortality, a saddening statistic underscoring the need for urgent action.
Despite the government’s ministry of health efforts over recent decades, limited access to quality healthcare, coupled with the high cost of life-saving procedures like cesarean sections, has perpetuated this crisis – mostly to women and girls residing from rural and slum areas in Nigeria.
Now, through a program dubbed ‘The Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative’, vulnerable women and girls can register to the country’s public health insurance cover and get services to any public hospital around the country. Through fully funded procedures, the government hopes to eliminate the financial obstacles that have endangered thousands of lives.
For many women in rural and slum areas, the cost of a C-section has been prohibitively expensive. Reports indicate that less than 30% of households in Nigeria can afford to consider it, leaving a majority to face potentially fatal complications during childbirth.
This economic barrier has also had a devastating impact on adolescent girls who become pregnant, often forcing them to drop out of school due to the compounded challenges of stigma, poverty, and limited healthcare access.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare indicates that the maternal mortality rate of schoolgirls is mostly associated with unsafe abortion practices.
Currently, mobile clinics and outreach teams are being deployed to remote communities, ensuring that women who might otherwise be excluded due to geographical barriers can access these life-saving services.
While the initiative is a significant step forward, however, it only acts for emergency cases, says Tashikalmah Hallah, a communication adviser to the health minister – as the BBC reports.
Many women’s groups and officials continue to urge the government for broader systemic reforms to sustain progress. Important reforms include better antenatal care, making family planning more accessible, and tackling the deep-seated socio-economic issues that lead to teenage pregnancies and poor maternal health in the first place.
For many vulnerable women and girls in Nigeria, the free C-section initiative is a lifeline. It is a progressive effort from the government to tackle the rising maternal mortalities. Targeting the root causes of the problem and providing equal access to critical healthcare, Nigeria is paving the way for a future where childbirth is a dignified and safe experience to mothers on the continent.
As progress continues, it holds the promise of transforming entire communities, offering hope to the nation long weighed down by the heavy toll of maternal health challenges.
