DON advocates increase budgetary allocation, wider insurance coverage to tackle maternal mortality in Nigeria

Vincent Iyawe, Immediate past provost College of Medical Sciences, University of Benin, says increased budget allocations, wider health insurance coverage are crucial to mitigating maternal and child mortality in Nigeria, particularly in rural areas.

Iyawe who posited this at the 27th Annual Lift Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO) Development Forum in Benin City, said improved healthcare can be achieved in Nigeria if the nation’s budget for the health sector moves from four or five percent to more than 10 percent of the national budget.

Speaking on the theme, “Improving access to quality maternal and child healthcare in rural communities: issues and perspectives,” he explained that mothers and children are important economic drivers, and their health is critical to sustainable economic development in Nigeria and Africa at large.

He identified funding, non-availability of health workers, non-sustainability of health infrastructure and paucity of information as well as poor statistics as the bane of poor health services. READ MORE

 

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