The SOGON President, Dr Habi Sadauki, stated this on Saturday in Abuja at a press conference supported by the Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health At Scale, anchored by the Development Research and Projects Centre, and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The briefing was part of the society’s 56th annual general meeting and the 11th international scientific conference, which was held between November 22 and 25, 2022. It had the theme ‘Improving reproductive health and rights towards sustainable development’.

Sadauki said, “Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate is still among the highest in the world, with an estimated 512 deaths per 100,000 live births, which is nowhere near the SDGs target of 70 per 100,000 live births.”

SDG target 3.1 is to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030. Sadauki warned that the date was fast approaching.

He added, “There is still a lack of access to and utilisation of family planning services in Nigeria, with only 22 per cent of women using any method of family planning, including modern methods. Gender-Based Violence is still dominant in Nigeria, with one in three women reporting one form of physical, sexual abuse, among others.”

He called on the President Buhari to assent to the Maternal Perinatal and Child Death Surveillance and Response Bill. “There is a need to ensure access to safe abortion to reduce the high rates of deaths and morbidities associated with unsafe abortions,” he added.