In demonstrating its commitment to helping Nigeria achieve one of the Millennium Development Goals on maternal health, Communicating for Change (CFC) recently organised a television broadcasters forum to x-ray the problems faced by women during pregnancy.
The screening of Too Young, Too Far, Too Late - short films that expose problems of maternal health in Nigeria – served as a careful reminder that a lot of work needed to be done in order to secure the lives of pregnant women whose mortality rate has increased to an alarming 144 per day.
Sandra Obiago, CFC’s executive director and producer of Too Young, Too Far, Too Late stated that the films reflect the shocking state of pregnant women in Nigeria.
According to her, “At a time of joy and expectation, when men and women look forward to new life, all too many times, they are faced with the sudden and crushing realization that their beloved wife, mother, daughter, sister or friend has let go her grasp on life after an intense struggle.”
Reiterating that Nigeria has the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world, after India, Obiago identified inadequate healthcare services in communities, unskilled birth attendants, lack of education, cultural stereotypes and barriers as problems, which ironically could be avoided to save the lives of these women.
“Too Young, Too Far, Too Late highlight the effects of peer pressure on our youth, family power dynamics, inadequate access to information, and the disastrous effects of not educating and empowering our women. The films also highlight the disastrous effects of the Nigerian brain drain, crumbling infrastructure and the lack of access to emergency healthcare services,” she said.
While informing that the stories came about through a collaborative effort with healthcare organisations and medical practitioners who shared their true life experiences, and also through focus groups and in-depth interviews to find out the causes of maternal mortality in Nigeria; Obiago enjoined all broadcast stations to air the films in the right context to help reduce poverty, improve health, promote peace, human rights and gender equality in the country.
Also speaking at the forum was Dr. Mairo Mandara, country programme advisor, The Packard Foundation, who made a strong case against early and late pregnancy and recommended the ages of 19-34 years for safer term.
The right age in addition to 3 years intervals between pregnancies, according to Dr. Mandara, would slash maternal mortality by one-third!
