Idowu Abdullahi
The Healthcare Federation of Nigeria has called for increased public-private partnerships in the management of primary healthcare centres as part of efforts to reduce Nigeria’s high maternal mortality rate.
The President of the HFN, Njide Ndili, said greater private-sector participation would improve efficiency in PHCs’ delivery needed to curb maternal deaths.
Nigeria accounts for 34 per cent of maternal deaths in the world, with the NDHS 2018 pegging the maternal mortality rate at 512 per 100,000 live births.
Speaking with PUNCH Healthwise after being honoured as one of the extraordinary women advancing healthcare recently, Ndili said the Federal Government must sustain its focus on improving maternal health.
She raised concerns that Nigeria continues to rank among the countries with the highest maternal mortality burden globally.
“I think what the government needs to do—and, in fact, they’re already doing some of it—is to continue focusing on maternal mortality and women’s health.
“As you know, Nigeria has one of the worst maternal mortality indices in the world. In fact, I think we’re number two globally. The statistics show that a woman dies every seven minutes while giving birth. We need to change that,” she said.
The HFN president noted that the FG had already taken steps to strengthen primary healthcare centres but stressed that more needed to be done.
According to her, the private sector has a critical role to play in improving the management and performance of PHCs across the country.
She said, “I know the government is already trying to address this by improving primary healthcare centres. From our side, we’re advocating public-private partnerships in those primary healthcare centres so they can be better managed.”
Ndili, who is also the Country Director of PharmaAccess, maintained that stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors would produce better health outcomes for women and the country at large.
She said, “I think the government is already doing a lot, but we need to continue pushing for greater private-sector involvement because the government cannot do it alone. I always advocate public-private partnerships.
“Government cannot do it alone. The more we bring in the private sector to support efficiency, transparency, technology, and capacity building, the more everyone benefits. Once a woman is well taken care of, the whole nation benefits. So, it’s important that we continue to advance women.”
She also urged the country to strengthen domestic capacity to deliver healthcare services following the decline in foreign donor support.
Ndili said, “Now that foreign aid has declined, we have to look inward and make the best use of the resources and people we already have. That is what we refer to as health sovereignty.
“Health sovereignty means producing the healthcare solutions you need within your own borders. That’s where we need to be.”
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