President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Health, Salma Anas, has flagged the poor attention paid by the Primary Health Care (PHC) system to Nigeria’s high morbidity and mortality rates, especially among those with pregnancy-related conditions. .
Mrs Anas said this while speaking at the ongoing 7th annual conference of the Association of Nigerian Health Journalists (ANHEJ) in Akwanga, Nasarawa State.
He said that primary care centers have problems of low health coverage for life-saving interventions. Other problems, she says, include poor and poor service delivery systems and low coverage of interventions at community and household levels.
He noted that PHC is the support point of a resilient health system and must be structured to provide services that support the achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and guarantee health security.
“In Nigeria, the primary health care level has received the least attention and continues to increase the burden of morbidity and mortality, especially due to pregnancy-related conditions, making it the weakest link in the service delivery system health,” he said.
Also regarding the integrated system that we are promoting, he said, “our aspiration is to ensure that as soon as a pregnant woman visits a health center, she is assured of the quality and level of care she requires to give birth to a healthy child. including payment for the services she would receive, ensuring that she is covered by one form of health insurance or another.”
The ANHEJ conference is themed “Health Security: Nigeria’s Effort to Achieve Universal Health Coverage.”
Maternal mortality and PHC
Anas said Nigeria is a major contributor to the global burden of maternal and neonatal deaths despite representing about three percent of the world’s population.
He said Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is also responsible for about 30 percent of the global gap in achieving the global goal of eradicating mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
He said some of the socio-economic challenges that contribute to preventable diseases and deaths also include poor overall behavior in seeking health services due to low literacy and socio-cultural factors, long distances to health facilities, poverty and lack access to water, sanitation and hygiene, among others. others.
However, he said the current administration is determined to leave a legacy of a resilient primary health care system to address existing challenges.
“The success of the interventions will be based on strong accountability mechanisms and renewed partnership models between government, development partners, the private sector, civil society organizations, the community and the media,” he claimed.
Nigeria in retrospect
Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the world; The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa states that one in seven maternal deaths in the world occurs in Nigeria. This equates to more than 50,000 women dying every year in Nigeria.
A 2023 report, titled: ‘Improving maternal and neonatal 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 notes that in 2020, around 788 women and children died “per thousand” in India and around 540 women and children “per thousand” died in Nigeria.
That same year, India accounted for 17 percent of global maternal and neonatal deaths and stillbirths, while Nigeria accounted for 12 percent.
Eight other countries with high maternal, neonatal and stillbirth rates 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 total of 4.5 million maternal, neonatal and stillbirth deaths in 2020.
Improve health through vaccination
Speaking at the event, Vaccine Network for Disease Control (VNDC) Executive Director Chika Offor said vaccine promotion by journalists is vital for public health education, countering doubts about vaccines, hold authorities accountable, build trust and promote dialogue.
Ms Offor said VNDC’s role in disseminating accurate and reliable information is crucial to ensuring the success of vaccination campaigns and protecting public health.
He said the VNDC aimed to address major 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 to the success of vaccination campaigns in any country. 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.”
He noted that the partnership with ANHEJ will mean a collaborative effort to prioritize and improve healthcare services for these vulnerable populations.