NAN-HG-6

Mortality

By Mustapha Sumaila/Felicia Leegho

Abuja, May 26, 2017 (NAN) The Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON) has advised government to provide incentives for posting of doctors to rural areas to tackle maternal mortality in the country.

The National Secretary of SOGON, Dr Chris Agboghorema, gave the advice at Media-Civil Societies Organisation Immersion meeting organised by DEVCOMS in Abuja on Friday.

Agboghorema explained that government’s failure to mobilise some medical practitioners with incentives to motivate them to work in rural areas contributed to high maternal mortality in villages all over the country.

He said that such programme on the posting of doctors to villages was introduced in the past, but government failed to deliver its responsibilities.

He said during that period almost all doctors posted to rural areas were not provided with accommodation as well as entitled allowances.

According to him, for a war against maternal mortality to be won, it must provide minimum expectations in terms of incentives.

“As I speak to you now, many of my colleagues and members of our society are ready to work in rural areas if they will be well mobilised and motivated by government.

“At the last salary review, we agreed to have rural allowances for health workers but government has not been living up to its responsibility to keep to the terms of agreement,” he said.

Agboghorema said that research conducted between 2014 and 2015 revealed that there were 1,100 obstetricians in the country.

He said that some states had only one out of this figure while others had so many of them.

The secretary added that 99 per cent of gynaecologists resided in state capitals and not where their services were needed in the villages.

He said that this issue of in balance must be addressed by government in order to prevent mortality during child bearing.
The secretary also charged the media to use incisive investigative journalism to address problems of maternal and child health in Nigeria. (NAN)
MS/FUA/OFN/MST

Edited by Felix Nwadioha/Muhammad Suleiman Tola