Nigerian women are still dying in childbirth at alarming rates — not because the solutions don't exist, but because they get poor care, arrive at hospitals too late, or are held back by harmful cultural beliefs.
Healthcare experts delivered this blunt assessment at the 6th Maternal Health Summit in Lagos, organised by Safer Hands Health Initiative (SHI). Despite years of interventions, grants, and awareness campaigns, Nigeria still ranks among countries with the worst maternal health indices globally.
Dr. Oluwakemisola Agoyi, Programme Manager at SHI, described the situation as “really sad.” She said the main reason Nigeria's maternal mortality ratio stays so high is the type of care women receive — or don't receive — and the delays they face.
“The bulk of why we keep ending up on that poor maternal morbidity ratio is because of the type of care that women receive or are able to access and because of the delays they get,” Agoyi said. “If we are able to provide appropriate care at the appropriate time and the appropriate place, then we will be able to mitigate it.”
Agoyi noted that Nigeria's shortage of healthcare professionals has forced the system to rely more on community-based attendants and nurses to fill critical gaps. She also highlighted technology as a growing tool: digital systems now help track pregnancies, predict complications, and follow up with women who miss antenatal appointments.
“Technology can help us to track, monitor and predict things before they happen. You can use text messages to follow up women who miss clinic appointments and digital imaging to detect complications early,” she said. Some locally developed innovations presented at the summit include AI-powered biomarker extraction and antenatal monitoring systems already being used in Nigeria.
Dr. Habeeb Moshood, Executive Director of HCA Consults and Project Lead for the summit, said expanding affordable health insurance is one of the strongest solutions to cutting maternal and child deaths. He pointed to Lagos, Delta, and Ogun states as examples of progress — they've introduced health insurance schemes that reduce out-of-pocket spending for pregnant women.
“Health insurance helps in reducing out-of-pocket expenses and exposing people to financial catastrophes,” Moshood said. He also called for stronger collaboration between government and the private sector in diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, hospital services, and maternal health research.
“The government cannot do everything alone. What it can do is create a thriving environment for the private sector to operate and grow. When private stakeholders grow, healthcare delivery improves,” he added.
Moshood also blamed deep-rooted cultural beliefs and misinformation for stopping many women from seeking proper care. He specifically mentioned resistance to caesarean sections.
“Many people had died because they don’t want to do cesarean section because of their cultural belief towards it. We need to explain that it is lifesaving for both the mother and the child. It does not make a woman less of a woman,” he said.
Dr. Orode Doherty, Managing Director of Ingress Health Partners, said communities must take greater responsibility. He urged them to identify local problems and create emergency support systems for pregnant women.
“The role of the community is to identify where the problem is and begin to put things in place to solve the problem,” Doherty said. He explained that communities can reduce deadly delays by organising emergency transportation, helping women access care quickly, and ensuring health facilities are ready for emergencies.
“We say our pregnant women — there must be no more deaths. What is causing them to die? When communities decide they want to solve that problem, they can solve it,” he added.
The summit brought together healthcare professionals, researchers, policymakers, community leaders, and development partners to discuss solutions for reducing preventable maternal and child deaths in Nigeria.