Prof. Kelsey Harrison, Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and former Vice Chancellor University of Port Harcourt, has called on the Federal Government to find adequate solution to reduce maternal mortality in the country.
Harrison made the call on Monday, during a public lecture titled “Still Dreaming of a Better Maternal Health” organised by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Abuja Teaching Hospital.
He said high maternal mortality is still a scourge in the country, hence the need to address the challenges was necessary to ensure that things in the public domain work to the general benefit of the society.
“We are still a developing country and the death of women during pregnancy is a clear indication of the the level of development.
“If you look at the figure in Nigeria, I don’t think we have developed much and the overriding lesson and tool for development is education.
“Be that as it may, I wish to point at this very beginning that the contribution from work in the fields by both expatriates and native Nigerians is not small.
“The fields covered not only influence pregnancy but also the nature of her culture, the available health care and how well it is being used,” he said.
The professor listed other causes of population of orphans explosion to include dearth of functional education and failed health-care system.
Others challenges that he highlighted are poor care services, poor enforcement of national policy on family planning and traditional preference for birth control.
“The results are also many but we usually stick to the death of the mother, death of the baby and size of the baby at birth because the results are specific.
“The most important tool for development is education for women and should be organised in such a way that every body goes up to secondary school level.
“The government should also fix the health sector especially at the rural areas to reduce maternal mortality in the country,” he said.
He explained that when orphans are neglected, they are vulnerable to HIV-AIDS infection, poverty, illiteracy, teenage pregnancy and sexual exploitation.
However, he also called on the health practitioners in the country, to ensure that they do the right thing to help address maternal mortality, for the development of the sector. (NAN)
