Scientists at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) have urged the government to establish a national system to audit maternal and infant deaths. They also want a legal framework that requires autopsies for every maternal death across the country. During a media briefing in Lagos, NIMR’s Director-General, Prof. John Obafunwa, raised doubts about the accuracy of current maternal mortality data, describing it as incomplete and unrepresentative of Nigeria’s health situation. He questioned how the existing statistics were calculated, pointing out that most data come from tertiary hospitals, which usually handle the most critical cases. Deaths occurring in primary and secondary health centers or during traditional births often go unrecorded.
Prof. Obafunwa emphasized that without proper investigation, efforts to reduce maternal deaths will only scratch the surface. He called for a nationwide law mandating autopsies in maternal death cases to improve data accuracy and guide better health policies. He also highlighted ongoing challenges such as poor healthcare access, unqualified birth attendants, and weak infrastructure as key factors driving preventable maternal deaths.
Supporting this view, NIMR’s Director of Research, Prof. Oliver Ezechi, explained that many maternal deaths happen suddenly and meet the medical criteria for autopsies. Recalling his medical training, he shared how autopsies have revealed unexpected causes of death, like amniotic fluid embolism, mistaken for pre-eclampsia. These findings, he said, help doctors learn valuable lessons to save lives. Prof. Ezechi stressed that individual doctors alone cannot solve the maternal health crisis, but require coordinated national action.
