Maternal Mortality in Nigeria: Trend, Triggers and Implications for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Sustainable development has been a major aspiration of many developing countries, including Nigeria. However, the incidence of maternal mortality in the country has elicited serious concerns from all stake holders. This paper attempts to examine the incidence of maternal mortality in Nigeria, its trend and triggers with a view to appraising its implications for sustainable development. The study utilized secondary data obtained from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators 2015. The research indicates the existence of high maternal mortality in Nigeria, in spite of various government interventions in the health sector. The reasons ascribed for this situation include: poor health management; poverty, unemployment, poor access to health facilities, high illiteracy level and ignorance especially among rural dwellers, pathological causes, corruption, poor gender relations, and dearth of project management expertise. Implications for sustainable development revealed by the study include: Late/low school enrollment, absence of maternal care, increased poverty, waste of the nation’s non-renewable resources, productivity impairment and slowed Gross Domestic Product growth rate. The paper therefore recommends that the government should strongly fight corruption and enforce the nine years of universal basic education, ensure comprehensive health management, craft an inclusive theory of consumption, intensify public sensitization especially for rural dwellers and hone the project management skills of health workers. Finally, government needs to intensify campaign for gender equality in order to improve female-confidence and voice in the society while also making health facilities and processes more public-friendly with a view to facilitating access to pre- and post-natal services.