Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has attributed the high maternal mortality now ravaging Nigeria to early marriage among girl-child.
Osinbajo, who spoke at a meeting today with delegations from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Department for International Development DFID, observed however, that respectable people in the society are now beginning to speak up on the issues.
“I think there is a convergence now on many of these issues; on early and forced marriage, people have clearly identified that this is a major drawback for development and a major problem for us.”
Professor Osinbajo said that a few people who are respected, “whose cultures and systems are involved, are already speaking up and are being listened to.”
He was responding to the submissions made by the Executive Director of the UNFPA, Professor Babatunde Osotimehin and the Permanent Secretary of the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), Mr Mark Lowcock on the need for the Federal and State governments to work with global agencies to reduce maternal mortality in Nigeria. They proposed a new global initiative to address maternal mortality in Nigeria.
Osotimehin, a former Health Minister in Nigeria said that maternal mortality rates in Nigeria is among the highest, with 111 dying on a daily basis.
Both Osotimehin and Lowcock sought the assistance of the Vice President to encourage state governors and the National Economic Council (NEC) so that the federal and state governments can work together with international agencies to address the crisis of maternal mortality in the country. [myad]
Hmm, the vice president got it wrong. Excessive bleeding is the major cause of pregnant women dying in labour. When the bleeding starts, there’s no blood to replace the loss. Most of the time the women do not have people to donate blood to them, and buying blood is very expensive, if you are lucky that it is available for sale. VP Osinbajo, the only thing you can attach to early marriage is VVF. Someone should have told the lawyer that postpartum hemorrhage is the highest killer of pregnant women in labour, not early marriage.