President Tinubu Approves Free C-Section Surgery for Vulnerable Women :
All stakeholders in global health are unanimous about the fact that maternal and (newborn) child mortality is a global health emergency. Every two minutes, a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth somewhere in the world. These are not just statistics; we’re talking about mothers, wives, sisters, and friends who are actually losing their lives. So, instead of being a thing of joy, pregnancy or childbirth become a dangerous experience for millions around the world who lack access to high-quality, humane and affordable health care.
This crisis is largely concentrated in the poorest parts of the world – and especially in countries affected by conflict. That means that about 70% of all maternal and child deaths are in sub-Saharan Africa. As a matter of fact, if maternal and child mortality is a global health emergency, Nigeria is one of its epicentres (along with South Sudan and Chad, two countries at, or near, the bottom of the global Human Development Index, HDI). According to the most recent surveys, Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate is 1,047 deaths per 100,000 live births, which is far higher than even the African average – as anything exceeding 1,000 deaths per 100,000 live births is an unacceptably high rate.
Some causes of maternal death include complications during pregnancy, before birth, during birth, and after birth. Other factors include the lack of access to healthcare, inadequate infrastructure, cultural barriers, and socio-economic disparities. For example, health-related factors that are the leading causes of maternal deaths include severe bleeding, high blood pressure, and underlying conditions that can be aggravated by pregnancy (such as HIV/AIDS and malaria). Another contributing factor is the high number of unsafe abortions. Quite a number of women these days get pregnant unintentionally, and may see themselves resorting to unsafe abortion practices, and unsafe abortion is a leading, but preventable, cause of maternal deaths. Challenges impeding the improvement of maternal and newborn health in Nigeria are primarily attributed to inadequate access to quality healthcare services, poor health infrastructure, and a shortage of skilled health workers, as well as religious and socio-cultural norms like early marriage and childbearing, gender inequality, and poverty.
The truth, however, is that NO woman should have to live in fear of having a baby due to the risk of death associated with it, especially because their deaths are preventable with the right care at the right time.
Driven by this simple but challenging paradigm since its inception in May last year, the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has prioritized investments in healthcare by strengthening healthcare infrastructure, improving access to quality maternal healthcare services, and developing interventions that address the cultural and socio-economic factors that contribute to maternal mortality. These interventions have seen the government, in partnership with the private sector, provide assistance and education to vulnerable groups in a bid to bridge gaps in maternal healthcare access.
It is in furtherance of this objective that President Tinubu recently approved FREE Caesarean Sections for poor and vulnerable pregnant women. This free medical service was approved under the Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII), which is designed to assist poor pregnant women and their babies in both public and private facilities listed under the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA). In disclosing the presidential approval during 2024’s Annual Health Review (JAR) in Abuja, Health Minister, Prof. Ali Pate situated the new initiative squarely under the ambit of the Renewed Hope Agenda in general, and the provisions of the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII) in particular. By removing any financial barriers to this life-saving procedure, Pate said, the Tinubu administtration has ensured that women in need would never be denied critical care due to cost. According to the Minister, this move was in line with the President’s intention to onboard 120,000 additional health workers to support primary care across Nigeria. “Together,” he said, “we are building a future where no mother or child is left behind in accessing the quality, affordable care they deserve.”
Cesarean Section, or C-Section, or Caesarean birth is the surgical delivery of a baby through a cut (ie an incision) made in the birth parent’s abdomen and uterus. Healthcare providers use it when they believe it’s safer for the birth parent, the baby, or both. If a woman cannot deliver vaginally, CS allows the foetus to be delivered surgically. The following conditions make a CS delivery necessary.
The first condition would be an abnormal foetal heart rate. Another factor is an abnormal position of the foetus during birth. The normal position of a foetus during birth is head-down and facing the mother’s back. Sometimes a foetus is not in the right position. This makes delivery more difficult through the birth canal. A third factor is labour that fails to progress or doesn’t progress the way it should. The size of the foetus (where the baby is too large for the mother to deliver vaginally) is also a condition that can necessitate CS. Placenta problems, as well as certain conditions in the mother, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or HIV infection, can also make a CS an option.
In the annals of Nigeria’s healthcare evolution, this policy (the first of its kind in the country) is nothing short of a revolution – as it strikes at the very heart of a crisis that has greatly tarnished Nigeria’s reputation on the global stage as far as public (especially maternal and child) is concerned. Expectedly, it has received effusive plaudits from leading stakeholders – both individual and corporate – in the nation’s health sector and beyond. Barrister Maxwell Gowon, for example (who is a board member of the Governing Council of the Federal University at Oye Ekiti in Ekiti State) says the free CS policy will go a long way to improve maternal health and reduce infant mortality rates in the country. He hailed President Tinubu’s foresight and commitment to the well-being of Nigerian women, noting that the policy is a testament to President Tinubu’s often-stated commitment towards actualizing the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, as well as his unwavering dedication to providing quality healthcare to all citizens, regardless of their socio-economic background.
As Nigeria continues to grapple with the challenges of providing quality healthcare to its teeming population, there is no doubt that initiatives like the free Caesarean Section policy offer a glimmer of hope for a better future for the generality of Nigerians.