By Chinelo Obogo
Maternal and Reproductive Health (MRH), Research Collective, a Non Governmental Organisation, has launched an initiative to raise N100 million to raise funds for the healthcare of 5000 women.
Speaking during a press briefing in Lagos, yesterday, one of the board members of the organisation, Temidayo Etomi, said the organisation, with the help of donors, have been helping women especially in rural communities get access to healthcare
“Between now and the end of October, we will be running a campaign in which we intend to raise N100 million that would save the lives of 5000 women. We are appealing for support to achieve this aim. We have a platform where people can make donations and making a donation for N20, 000 for instance, will go a long way in saving the life of a woman. We are calling on everyone to join us and save lives. On October 28, we will be having a health walk/run which is also geared towards raising funds for the campaign,” she said.
Also speaking, another member, Dr. Mobolanle Balogun, said Nigeria has the highest number of maternal deaths and that the problem cannot be ignored.
She said: “Some of the causes of maternal deaths in Nigeria include haemorrhage, obstructed labour due to complications, infections after delivery and other causes. The access to health facilities is still a problem particularly in rural communities.” In many health centers, we don’t have enough attendants for our women. A lot of Nigerians are very poor and this has affected their ability to access quality healthcare.”
The founder of MRH, Prof. Abosede Afolabi, who later spoke, said revealed that 82,000 Nigerian women die yearly from pregnancy related issues and that the country has one of the highest mortality rates in the world. She thanked the individuals and organisations that have been of support and said more help is needed to meet the target of helping 5000 women get healthcare.
“The way of reaching a larger number of pregnant women is in the community, that is what brought the idea of developing the organisation. We had so many supporters from the beginning and it has been a team work. Maternal mortality in Nigeria has to change and right now, Nigeria has the largest number of women dying from pregnancy and childbirth and this needs to stop. We have 82,000 women who die yearly and this number is huge
“I am grateful to all our partners who have been of great help. I appreciate Sterling Bank, I-fitness, the Lagos State government, the Federal Government, the board of this organisation, the Nollywood actors who have supported and all our team members. We want to start our campaign to help 5000 women in Lagos State and from there, we would get to other parts of the country,” she said.