LAGOS, Nigeria(VOICE OF NAIJA)-Health experts have linked the alarming rise in maternal and newborn deaths across parts of Enugu State to critical shortages of healthcare workers, dilapidated health facilities, and the long distances as many women must travel to access care, leaving mothers and babies increasingly at risk.
Enugu State’s health stakeholders have raised serious concerns over rising maternal and neonatal mortality in the region.
According to them, the worst hit, three local government areas are Oji-River, Isi-Uzo, and Igboeze North.
These areas are part of 174 high-burden LGAs targeted by the Federal Government’s Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII), which aims to cut maternal deaths by 30 percent by 2030.
Speaking at the end of a five-day MAMII activation workshop in Enugu, Head of Child with Special Needs, Department of Family Health at the Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs. Helen Akibeke-Chukwu, cited multiple systemic failures.
“One key issue is the attitude of healthcare workers. Regardless of salary challenges, patients, especially expectant mothers must be treated with dignity and professionalism,” she said.
Community visits conducted during the workshop revealed that poor facility conditions, such as the dilapidated state of some health centers like in Oji-River, along with high transportation costs and user fees, are driving women away from life-saving services.
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Akibeke-Chukwu stressed the urgency of addressing these access barriers, especially in rural and underserved areas, noting, “Some women have to travel long distances to reach care, and the cost of transport is too high. In some communities, there are no functioning health facilities at all.”
Furthermore, Enugu State Commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu, outlined the government’s broad healthcare reform plan under Governor Peter Mbah, describing it as a “primary to quaternary” approach. This includes the renovation of all 51 general and cottage hospitals and the construction of a 300-bed international hospital for complex medical cases.
“To end maternal mortality, we must start from the base. That’s why the governor has approved the hiring of 2,000 new healthcare workers to strengthen primary healthcare centres across the state,” Ugwu said.
Echoing these concerns, traditional ruler Igwe Emmanuel Anichebe of Umana Isiugwu, lamented the complete lack of a health centre in his community, calling it a “man-made problem” that forces women to seek care in distant towns, often too late.
Similarly, the leader of the Mbụ Central Mosque and state chairman of MURIC, Imam Ibrahim Yunusa Ugwu, described the workshop as a much-needed intervention.
“No woman should die giving life. This issue affects all of us, Muslims, Christians, everyone,” he said.
In a move to drive coordinated action, the Enugu State Government has inaugurated a 30-member task force to work alongside the Ministry of Health in addressing maternal and neonatal mortality. The task force will monitor health facilities, identify systemic gaps, and push for faster interventions.
Notably, the launch of MAMII plus a unified front of government, health officials, and community leaders, Enugu State is making bold moves to reverse maternal and neonatal mortality, ensuring that no woman is left behind when it matters most.
