Saving mothers and children in Nigeria, Why I never struggle to go to work

Health workers do community outreach for the Together for Healthy Families in Nigeria program.

By Olubunmi Afolabi, Communications Officer, Together for Healthy Families in Nigeria

I rarely struggle to get out of bed in the morning. The thought of the countless lives touched by Together for Healthy Families in Nigeria (THFN), a Programs of Scale recipient, gives me strength for each new day. Statistics on Nigeria’s maternal mortality – 512 deaths for every 100,000 pregnant mothers – may appear faceless on paper, but not to me. I see the mothers. I see the babies. I have stood in the very rooms where those numbers either become tragedies or triumphs.

On the second day of our Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care (EmONC) training, a woman in labor came in to a nearby health center in Aaye in Ekiti State. What transpired after I arrived will stay with me forever. The woman had been pregnant five times before and was now carrying twins at just over 36 weeks.

The situation was tense. The facility was short-staffed, and the officer-in-charge – a nurse midwife – was absent. A Community Health Extension Worker (CHEW) had stepped in to manage the delivery. She was not a midwife by training, but she had been part of our THFN program, equipped with lifesaving skills through the EmONC training.

The first twin came quickly, head first, at 8:30 a.m. The cries of the newborn filled the room, and for a moment, relief washed over us. But the second twin was not as cooperative. He was in breech position, and despite the community health worker’s best efforts, the delivery would not progress. Time slowed. The room grew heavy with fear.

I knew then what had to be done. A referral was made immediately, and thanks to the training and coordination in place, the Medical Officer of Health and a nurse who were also attending the workshop acted without hesitation. Together, they transferred the mother to the General Hospital in Iyin Ekiti.

Hours later, I stood at her bedside as the second twin was delivered safely at 12:25 p.m. But the ordeal was not over. Suddenly, the patient began to bleed – postpartum hemorrhage, one of the leading causes of maternal death in Nigeria. Swiftly, oxytocin was administered, followed by misoprostol. Slowly, her bleeding came under control. Both babies, though small – 1.9 kg (4.1 pounds) and 2.0 kg (4.4 pounds) – were breathing steadily. The mother’s life had been saved.

That night, as I lay down, I thought of her face, pale but smiling, and the tiny forms of her children bundled at her side. I thought of the community health worker whose training gave her the courage to try, of the referral system that worked when things turned complicated, and of the hospital team who did not give up until both mother and babies were safe.

For me, this was more than another day on the job. It was a calling reaffirmed. The experience reminded me that behind every statistic is a story – a mother, a child, a family, a future. It also underscored something I now carry into every training and conversation: the importance of timely referrals and the strengthening of our health systems.

When people ask me why I do this work, I think of this woman, her twins, and the hundreds of thousands of families touched by the efforts of Rotary and the Rotary Action Group for Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health. Their stories are the reason I rise each morning, eager to continue the work.

Together for Healthy Families in Nigeria aims to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in select areas of Nigeria by 25% and to increase the number of families who get health care in clinical settings. The program was initiated by the Rotary Action Group for Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health (RMCH) and by Rotary District 1860 in Germany and Rotary District 9125 in Nigeria, in partnership with the Nigeria Federal Ministry of Health. It received the 2021-22 Rotary Foundation Programs of Scale grant. Watch or download this video from the Brand Center.