In a bid to reduce high maternal and neo-natal deaths in Nigeria, Tolu Medical Centres at Olodi Apapa, Ajegunle, and Ojo Road, both in Lagos, have empowered more than 600 pregnant women.
The empowerment programme, called health-gathering, which was held on Saturday at Ojo Centre and on Sunday at Olodi Apapa, had beneficiaries from different ethnic and religious groups in the country as well as medical personnel in attendance in commemoratation of the 29th and 37th anniversary of the TMCs respectively.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammed Pate, had said recently that in 2023 alone, 57,000 mothers died from pregnancy and complications during childbirths.
In an interview with journalists on the sidelines of the programme on Sunday, Group Managing Director of Tolu Medical Centres, Mrs. Olajumoke Caxton-Martins, said the health-gathering was organised to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.1, targeting the reduction of the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by the year 2030.
She stated that information from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), showed that Nigeria represents 2.4 of the global population, yet it contributes 10 per cent of the global maternal mortality ratio.
She added that a 2023 report of the World Health Organisation (WHO) made it known that Nigeria has the second highest maternal, stillbirth, and neonatal deaths in the world, following India.
Caxton-Martins noted that this is estimated at 540 women and children per 1,000 at 12 per cent, while India is on 17 per cent at 788 deaths per 1,000.
Nigeria, she said, shares the abysmal ranking with Pakistan (10 per cent), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (5.0 per cent), and Ethiopia (4.0 per cent).
"Today, we are having a health-gathering in line with the spirit of our founder, Dr. Abib Olamitoye where we are taking care of pregnant women in Ajegunle community. Tolu Medical Centre has been in existence for 37 years. On our anniversary every year, we have a gathering where we bring together pregnant women; we feed them, we entertain them, and give them gifts, just to make them happy. Then, we educate them about their healthcare and what they need to do to make sure that the babies are delivered safely."
Dr. Oluwatobi Emmanuel, the Medical Director, Tolu Medical Centre, Olodi Apapa, in an interview with journalists during the programme on the roles of government to expectant mothers, made an advocacy that for establishment of concrete mechanism, including toll-free lines to manage emergencies concerning pregnant women.
"The government has a lot of roles to play when it comes to management of emergencies, especially for women who are pregnant and women in labour. Just as we have toll-free lines for accident victims, which they can easily call. The government should also make programmes available for pregnant women so that in case of emergencies, they can call such numbers .
"There should be ambulances at designated points that would easily access the interiors of the community to attend to pregnant women when they have issues of complications. Then, there should be healthcare professionals, who should be trained and encouraged to stay to take care of such emergencies."
Medical Director, Tolu Medical Centre, Ojo Road, Dr. Ayankoso Abayomi, said 250 women attended the health-gathering organised for pregnant women on Saturday.
Deputy General Manager, and former matron in the hospitals, Mrs Esther Iheme, noted that the health-gathering has been helping pregnant women to know the importance of hospital delivery, and antenatal care.
Two among the beneficiaries, Juliat Musa Yaqub, and Rukayat Bukola Olanrewaju, who thanked the hospital for organizing the health-gathering, noted that the management of the hospital has always been attending to patients in emergencies to save life, before asking for money.
Yaqub said: "I live here in Ajegunle. My experience with Tolu Medical Centre has been very good. The hospital is very good at what it does. I have been using this hospital for the past six years.
Also, Olanrewaju stated: "I stay at Mile 2 Estate. Actually, there are hospitals in the estate too. But my mother did her antenatal care at Tolu Medical Centre with my younger ones many years ago, and I used to follow her. We have been using this hospital for a very long time. So, I decided to come and do my antenatal here. The special thing about this hospital is that they attend to emergencies nicely without delaying anything."