International Day of Nurses: We Will Remain Committed to our Nurses and Midwives – Saraki

As a medical doctor, I find it devastating that Nigeria has the 2nd-worst maternal mortality rate in the world. This means that everyday, an average of 116 women die from pregnancy-related causes around the country. To put this in another perspective, Nigeria’s makes up 2% of the world’s population but takes up 12% of the world’s maternal mortality rate. This is unacceptable.

This is why in the coming weeks, the Senate, through our Committee on Health, and Committee on Primary Healthcare and Communicable Diseases, will be taking appropriate action by using our powers of oversight to ensure that:

One, midwives and primary healthcare centers across the country have the appropriate personnel, infrastructure and funding;

Two, stakeholders meet to immediately confront the lapses in our system that impede quality service delivery and address the requirements of nurses and midwives in Nigeria.

Moving forward, midwives across the country should be rest assured that they have a committed partner in the 8th Senate. We will continue to work to ensure that Nigeria’s maternal mortality ratio decreases by fully supporting all efforts to address these challenges.