The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the Federal Government have known as for stronger collaboration, elevated funding and modern approaches to deal with Nigeria’s maternal mortality disaster and enhance entry to sexual and reproductive well being providers.
The name was made on Wednesday on the Second Annual National Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Conference 2026, organised by the Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights Networks in Abuja.
Speaking on the occasion, the UN Women Representative to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States.(ECOWAS), Beatrice Eyong, mentioned maternal mortality remained a serious public well being problem, with almost 1,000 girls dying for each 100,000 stay births in Nigeria.
She mentioned, “Too many women continue to lose their lives from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.”
She additionally expressed concern that fewer than half of births in Nigeria happen in well being services, noting that entry to expert and high quality maternal care remained uneven throughout communities, saying adolescent ladies additionally face important limitations, together with little one marriage, early and unintended pregnancies, gender-based violence, and dangerous social norms that prohibit their selections.
Eyong mentioned sexual and reproductive well being and rights have been central to gender equality, human rights, social justice and sustainable improvement, including that they influenced academic attainment, financial participation, resilience and the power of communities to thrive.
“When women and girls flourish, societies prosper. When a woman survives pregnancy and childbirth, families are strengthened. When adolescent girls remain in school and can make informed choices about their futures, communities become more resilient,” she mentioned.
She known as for stronger implementation of current nationwide insurance policies and authorized frameworks, together with the National Gender Policy, the National Policy on the Health and Development of Adolescents and Young People, the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 and the National Health Act 2014.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, additionally known as for stronger collaboration amongst authorities establishments, improvement companions, civil society organisations and communities to deal with sexual and reproductive well being challenges.
He mentioned, “They are not issues that can be addressed by the health sector alone. They require coordinated action across government, communities, development partners, civil society and the private sector.”
He known as for better emphasis on respectful maternity care, safety of sufferers’ dignity and rights, and neighborhood engagement to make sure girls and ladies participated meaningfully in selections affecting their well being and wellbeing.
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