Maternal and newborn survival - act of God vs role of man

Ondo State had the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in Nigeria’s southwest zone. The NDHS 2008 showed that less than 50% of pregnant women in Ondo State were delivered by skilled birth attendants.The State laboured and struggled to reduce the rate of unnecessary deaths of pregnant women and newborn.In Nigeria, generally, when a pregnant woman or a newborn dies, it is seen as an act of God. So, after Ondo State initiated and implemented Abiye, the idea that rewarded all the labours and struggles with significant success, it was as if God had changed His act for good.The saying about divine intervention, however, is that God does not come down to help; He uses people.The Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko, for example, is one of such people. I would rather like to describe the governor’s intervention as a strong political will that is needed to deliberately prioritise and execute a plan to improve maternal and newborn health.The Abiye project was a concept of Governor Mimiko’s think tank. They used both human and material resources of the State to tackle the unacceptably high rate of maternal and newborn deaths. The result received international recognition. They won several awards.The governor was reported to have said “Since the project started, antenatal attendance increased from 240 to 4,693 women, while the number of deliveries at our hospitals increased from 98 to 1,668 births and the population of women that patronised TBAs have reduced dramatically.”While all this was happening, there were other people in other corners of the State who were taking action to help pregnant women and newborns survive and make families happy. They had no access to the State’s resources; but they made significant impact with their personal means.Take Richard Akinkugbe for example. He lives behind a major market at Moferere Oja in Ondo town.Moferere Oja has a primary healthcare centre (PHC) at the heart of the market. Pregnant women and their relatives were, for a long time, unable to locate the PHC. They always took it for a market building until Richard adorned the front walls of the building with statues of pregnant women, letting people eventually realise the essence of the building. Richard stands in front of the artwork he used to indicate that the building is a PHC  You're not likely to know what the building is for if you don't see the artwork on the wallRichard never expected to be awarded for taking action to help his community's pregnant womenAlso, think about Florence Kuti. She lives in Ore town in Ondo State. When she was a young civil servant, she volunteered her refrigerator for safe-keep of immunisation vaccines. She denied herself certain convenience so that newborns could survive.This is what Florence's house entrance looks likeFlorence will be 73 years old this year and she is still using her time and energy to educate pregnant women on dos and don’ts of pregnancy, encouraging them to attend antenatal care and be delivered of their babies by skilled birth attendants.Madam Florence receives her award of recognition from Dr. Adeyanju, Ondo State Health CommissionerOdunayo Olakunle is doing a similar feat in Ijare, a small community also in Ondo State. Odunayo volunteers as a community health announcer who encourages pregnant women to use the health facility for their health and the safety of their unborn babies.Hanging out with Odunayo in Ijare communityI was told that her effort led to a considerable turnout of pregnant women at the community’s health facility and the cry over the loss of a pregnant woman or a newborn has reduced.Odunayo shows off her award for informing her community on maternal/newborn healthThese unseen, unsung people are MamaYe’s and Abiye’s champions, heroes and heroines.These people are not like the government with strategies and resources. They are everyday people who are not even noticed for the roles they play. Until MamaYe found and recognised them, they were not going to receive accolades for saving lives.As MamaYe formerly launched in Ondo State, in the presence of the people, the State government's representatives, CSOs, NGOs, TBAs and local vanguards of maternal and newborn health, we took time to recognise and award our champions, heroes and heroines, Richard, Florence and Odunayo. Their glory came in shining lights. They stood in front of the most important people in the State, and the paramount rulers in the land who graced the occasion, while their efforts to save lives were recognised.Obas (kings) from various towns in the StateA troupe entertains the champions and the audienceMamaYe's Technical Lead, Sara Bandali having some of the fun with dance stepsOndo State Health Commissioner, Dr. Dayo Adeyanju recognised for paving inroad for MamaYe in the StateThe youths were not left out in the struggle. Temitope Joseph, an undergraduate of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, was the recipient of our laptop and 3-month internship prize for writing the best essay to call policy makers to action on saving the lives of mothers and babies.Temitope JosephMy takeaway from this experience is that Ondo State achieved improvement in maternal and newborn health because God changed His act only when people acted. After all, they say heaven helps those who help themselves. If we must change our poor maternal and newborn health statistics, we must stop resigning to fate. We must start acting. If you need inspiration on what to do to save the life of a pregnant woman or a newborn, follow this link now.