Nigeria now has the second-highest number of maternal deaths in the world. This is according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO). The report titled the 2023 Progress Report, detailed how Nigeria accounts for 29% of the world’s 290,000 maternal deaths annually and will miss the SDG target by 2030 in terms of child deaths.
WHO also disclosed that the country ranked as the highest globally in incidences of neonatal and child deaths.
The report covers eight other countries with high maternal, newborn and stillbirth rates. They include Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Afghanistan, and the United Republic of Tanzania.
The report showed that Nigeria’s maternal and child mortality rates have stagnated since 2015, increasing nearly every year.
The World Health Organization has warned that current trends could put more than 60 countries, including Nigeria, short of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals to reduce maternal, neonatal and stillbirth mortality.
The trend is due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the report said, with the number of women dying from pregnancy-related problems continuing to rise in the past three years, Nigeria is ranked second.
Other worrying factors are the ever-increasing poverty rate, deteriorating humanitarian situation, and bad governance. As well as the lack of funds that plague countries around the world.
cc: Vanguard Ng
