Experts in maternal health said effective collaboration between the public and private sectors is crucial to building resilient maternal health systems in Nigeria.
They stated this Tuesday during a webinar organised by the Nigeria Health Watch with support from MSD for Mothers. It was themed “Building resilient maternal health systems through private sector integration.”
According to the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (2018 NDHS), Nigeria’s maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is 512 deaths per 100,000 live births, which is one of the worst maternal health indices in the world.
Dr David Clarke, Acting Unit Head, Health Systems Governance and Policy, World Health Organisation (WHO), said the agency has recorded impacts in ensuring governments achieve universal health coverage (UHC) for their population through harnessing the public and private health sector’s collective national expertise and resources.
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Advocacy Lead, MSD for Mothers, Temitayo Erogbobo, said there was an urgent need to integrate the private sector to ensure adequate financing of health systems and improvement in health outcomes.
The Managing Director of Nigeria Health Watch, Vivianne Ihekweazu, said the fact that the private sector provides over 60% of healthcare services in Nigeria highlights the important role it can play in improving maternal health outcomes.
