Accountability for maternal healthcare services in Nigeria

“

This article uses first-hand knowledge of ongoing human rights efforts to address preventable maternal mortality and morbidity in Nigeria to offer immediate opportunities to healthcare providers and professional bodies such as the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council, and Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in Nigeria (SOGON), to assume leadership roles in effecting required reforms to reduce preventable maternal deaths in Nigeria. Such reforms can include engaging the legislature to close gaps in laws and policies including developing a patients’ rights law to ensure equitable access to services. These bodies could provide technical support to the executive arm of government to address the prevention of the complete disruptions in healthcare service in crisis-affected areas in northern Nigeria and during industrial actions. As professional bodies, they have leverage to push the executive arm of government to institutionalize maternal mortality audits and implement existing obligations provided by laws, policies, guidelines (e.g. the National Guidelines for Maternal Death Review), and ethical rules. They can also support judicial accountability strategies by submitting amicus briefs and/or providing expert witnesses in judicial proceedings to strengthen normative standards regarding maternal healthcare services. SOGON could further build on its objectives to reduce poor maternal health outcomes by incorporating human rights and ethics trainings in continuing medical education programs, and could work collaboratively with other relevant actors, including non-governmental organizations and the National Human Rights Commission, to research, identify, and document ethical and legal violations, best practices, and emerging challenges.

”