Women’s health indicators for Nigeria rank among the worst in the world. Nearly 30% of  its women aged 15-19 year are or have been married and more than a fifth of the women begin child-bearing in their teens. The maternal mortality ratio stands at 545 deaths per 100 000 live births nationwide but nearly double that ratio (1026) in the North-West region.
 

Theirs is not lack of facilities as Jigawa State boasts a number of medical facilities even at the grassroots, but the problem is that the facilities have far too few personnel and too little equipment and drugs to be of much help to the residents.
 
Buji Local Government Area with a population of 92,371, made up of crop farmers and Fulani herdsmen, is an example. Its headquarters, Gantsa, hosts local, state and even federal agencies such the police and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), among others.
 

Governor Olusegun Mimiko, of Ondo State has implored the incoming Rotimi Akeredolu administration to build on its Mother and Child healthcare policies so that pregnancy will not again be a “death sentence in the state.”
 
Mimiko gave this charge in Akure during the 2nd anniversary of the initiative, where he was lauded by stakeholders for the accomplishments made in the eight years of his administration, especially in the health sector.
 

IN recognition of the important role that they play in the provision of healthcare, especially at the grassroots, Traditional Birth Attendants, TBAs, have been recognised as indispensable to healthcare delivery in the country. 

A past Chairman of the Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board, Dr. Bunmi Omoseyindemi who stated this position, said the State government should put in place capacity building programmes to boost the confidence of TBAs to safely take  deliveries and make quick referrals in case of emergency.