A former Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, has called on the Federal Government to prioritise the reduction of maternal mortality by subsidising childbirth and expanding access to free healthcare.
Adewole, who spoke on Wednesday in Ibadan, described Nigeria’s persistently high maternal mortality rate as a national shame that requires urgent government intervention.
According to him, the government must adopt sustainable funding models to prevent avoidable deaths during childbirth. He recommended that childbirth should be subsidised and, where possible, made free—capped at four deliveries in line with the national population policy.
“We need to prevent women from dying. Many women die because they give birth to us, which is unfair,” Adewole said. “Government can also support free family planning so that women can make informed choices about childbirth.”
The former University of Ibadan vice-chancellor also emphasised the need for accessible and free primary healthcare, noting that over 80 per cent of health complaints, such as malaria, diarrhoea and vomiting, could be effectively treated at the community level.
He lauded the Federal Government for reducing the cost of kidney dialysis in public hospitals from N50,000 to N12,000 but urged that similar relief be extended to other critical health services.
Adewole further urged the government to channel savings from fuel subsidy removal into health and education, stressing that basic education at the primary, secondary, and vocational levels should be free.
On the global fight against cervical cancer, the former minister, who chairs Nigeria’s National Task Force on the Elimination of Cervical Cancer, revealed that prevention through vaccination and early screening remains the most effective strategy.
“Cervical cancer is caused by a virus and can be prevented through vaccination. For those already exposed, early detection through screening can stop its progression,” he noted.
Speaking on the mass migration of health workers, popularly known as the “Japa syndrome,” Adewole described the trend as both a “push and pull” factor, worsened by poor working conditions at home and attractive foreign exchange rates abroad.
Adewole, who served as Minister of Health from November 2015 to May 2019 under former President Muhammadu Buhari, insisted that deliberate policy action in healthcare and education was the only way to build a healthier, more productive Nigeria.
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