World Health Day: Dr. Abbas Gbolahan Identifies 5 Leading Causes Of Maternal Deaths, Under 5-Year Mortality
The Chief Executive Officer, Royal Public Health Advancement Initiative, Dr Abbas Gbolahan has said that obstetric haemorrhage (Excessive Bleeding after child birth), eclampsia (Seizure), sepsis, obstructed labour and complications of unsafe abortion are five leading causes of maternal death in Nigeria and Oyo state.
Dr. Gbolahan made this known in Ibadan at a press conference organized by the organization to mark the 2025 World Health Day with the theme “Healthy Beginning, Helpful Future”
He also explained that the high under-5 years old mortality is principally caused by a high disease burden, Malaria, malnutrition, diarrhoea and pneumonia
He said “Challenges of improved Maternal and Child Health, The problems facing Nigeria involve the inadequate provision of trained medical and paramedical personnel, Inefficient utilization by the community of the services provided, Women faced economic, psychological, sociocultural issues”
According to Dr. Gbolahan, there was the need for government to utilize Community and traditional birth attendants and community based organization in Maternal and Child health.
He said currently, Oyo State has more than 1000 Community and traditional birth attendants with more than 70% of them as faith based.
While recommending Improve coverage of Community Health Insurance, Improve immunization services to reduce communicable diseases as well as Monitoring and supervision of public and Private health facilities, Dr Gbolahan advised Government, healthcare providers, and communities to work together to address the gaps in maternal and child health in Oyo State and Nigeria as whole.
Also speaking, the Oyo State coordinator, World Health Organization, W.H.O, DR Zorto Philip said statistics have shown that more women die due to pregnancy or childbirth each year, while over 2 million babies die in their first months of life, and many more are stillborn.
He said “That’s roughly 1 preventable death every 7 seconds”.
“Based on current trends, a staggering 4 out of 5 countries are off track to meet targets for improving maternal survival by 2030. 1 in 3 will fail to meet targets for reducing newborn deaths.
“Health systems must evolve to manage the many health issues that impact maternal and newborn health. These not only include direct obstetric complications but also mental health conditions, noncommunicable diseases, and family planning.
