By Asma’u Ahmad
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has called on the Federal Government to increase its effort to reduce maternal mortality rate in the country.
UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, made the call in Abuja at a meeting with some selected stakeholders in the health sector.
Newsmen report that the meeting was convened by Dr. Osotimehin and Permanent Secretary in the UK Department for International Development (DFID), Mr. Mark Lowcock.
Osotimehin, who expressed regret that Nigeria accounted for 10 per cent of maternal mortality in the world, said the situation was being worsened by conflicts in some states in the country. He said that no significant improvement would be made to reduce maternal mortality without mobilising resources from the government and other stakeholders.
The UN official stressed the need to provide essential commodities to aid family planning and ensure safe delivery for mothers.
He said that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the challenges facing women and girls in the country with the aim of finding solutions.
He said: “the agency has supported states in the north-east in protecting women and girls and ensuring pregnant women have all they needed to deliver safely.
“UNFPA has also provided support to ensure that women have access to family planning and prevention of gender based violence which increases with conflict. We also collaborating with other development partners in ensuring food security and security of people generally in the north-east.
“We know that women and girls in the zone require some attention which we are providing them which includes family planning, and prevention of gender based violence.”
The UNFPA director said the agency was working with commissioners in the states to address those issues.
In his remarks, Borno State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Haruna Mshelia, said that the approach adopted in addressing the polio burden should be accorded to family planning.
He said that some key approaches to address the nation’s maternal mortality burden should include meeting with traditional and religious leaders to accept family planning.
He said that accountability, patriotism, commitment and improvement of human resources by all tiers of government would go a long way to address the menace.
