Death is stalking pregnant women in Nigeria in great numbers. According to a recent report by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), about 52,000 women in the country die yearly as a result of complications during pregnancy and childbirths. The report added that even though Nigeria accounts for just 1.7% of the world’s total population, the country accounts for 10% of the global maternal deaths.

This is a very sad situation, more so that we have the potential human and material resources to give our women, especially pregnant women better health. That in the year 2008, women in this country continue to die in their tens of thousands during pregnancy and births shows not just the poor attention a various government at all levels pay to the needs of women but also appalling failure of health services generally in the country. The health of our citizens, including the women, it seems, is not receiving its due, important as this issue is in our overall quest for national development.

The Nigerian women are the perfect example of deprivation and neglect, in or out of pregnancy. In pregnancy the burdens seem to multiply, creating a situation in which the joy of the womb is militated by the uncertainty of safe delivery. Health experts are agreed that safe pregnancy and delivery are largely contingent on proper and adequate medical attention and nutrition for the woman concerned. Nigeria has an appalling record in these areas. A 2004 UNICEFF report blamed the poor situation of mothers in Nigeria on the "poor state of Nigeria’s health system". To confirm this dire straits our health sector is in today, especially as regards the health of pregnant women, a report from the federal ministry of health, on Primary Health Care (PHC) services stated that only 48.8% of PHC facilities in the country provide antenatal care services, while 42.9% give delivery services and only 43.9% provide postnatal care services. In the rural areas, where a majority of the women live, it is almost certain, these services would still be poorer and fewer.

Coupled with the growing poverty in the country today, especially among the womenfolk, the challenges being faced by women, whether pregnant or not, is daunting, pushing them to the periphery of society and with a future that is increasingly becoming bleaker for them and their children. No wonder the estimated lifetime maternal death in Nigeria is put at 1:16 that is for every 16 pregnant women, one is likely to die as a result of pregnancy or childbirth. In Europe and United States of America, the ratio is 1:3,500.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) launched in 1990 seeks to cut maternal mortality rate by ¾ by the target date of 2015. In Nigeria, it is unlikely we would meet this goal. Our health system is still plagued by inadequate and poor services and shortages of skilled manpower. Poverty is still rampant, in fact, increasing at an alarming rate, leading to a situation where families are unable to afford good diet and access to health services. This situation is telling harder on the most vulnerable groups in society, namely the women and children. No wonder there is higher rates of deaths generally among these groups and yet society’s promise for a better future is dependant on then. What an irony.

Women are too important to be left to their fate. Their health and overall needs should be a priority for government. Today, there is on earthly reason why our women should continue to die in these great numbers during pregnancy or childbirths. This is why government must hasten to put in place measures that would adequately address the overall needs of women and children, including measures that check the unacceptably high rate of maternal deaths in the country today. While free medical services for pregnant women and children are good and commendable effort, the purpose of this noble goal will be defeated if the facilities are not available or inadequate. This is why not only must government provide more health facilities, like hospitals and clinics, such facilities must also be adequately and properly equipped to provide adequate services for those who need them. Saving our women from these preventable deaths should be our clarion call today. They deserve the best attention from us as mothers and also because our future is inseparably tied to their present welfare.