Nurses deliver baby with phone torch light.

Deborah Ezra, a member of the Nigeria
Nurses and Midwives, NANNM, lamented
the poor situation under which the
women in rural areas have their
newborns and the dire conditions under
which the midwives work.
At the celebration of the International
Midwives Day on Monday at the
Rockview Royal Hotel in Wuse 2, Abuja,
Ms. Ezra said on too many occasions she
handled deliveries using the torch light
of a mobile phone.
She listed power supply as one of the
various major challenges in her work as a
mid wife in various rural areas where
she has been posted to serve.
Mrs. Ezra called on government at all
levels to invest in midwives as a frontline
to achieving the Millennium
Development Goal 4 and 5, which are to
reduce child mortality and improve
maternal health respectively by 2015.
Nigeria currently has one of the highest
cases of maternal mortality in the world
with about 142 deaths daily according to
official statistics.
The country leader of an international
non governmental organisation that
promotes sexual and reproductive health
rights of women, Ipas-Nigeria, Ejike Obi,
praised midwives and encouraged them
to key into family planning programs in
the country stating that Nigeria still
depends on midwives to improve
maternal, child and newborn health in
the country.
Representing Nigeria Urban Reproductive
Health Initiative, Mojushoola Odeku,
urged midwives to brush up on family
planning and counseling. She also
advised that young midwives seek
retired midwives to learn from their
wealth of experience.
Ms. Odeku said family planning is the
bedrock of midwifery and it helps to
reduce child birth by 25 percent.
The Minister of Health, Mohammed Pate,
who attended the event, said his
ministry will do all it can "to ensure that
the quality of health care is improved in
the country".
He called on midwives in the country to
have passion for the job they do.
Mr. Pate encouraged women to take up
the profession of midwifery and develop
interest in maternal advocacy at all
levels.
The President of NANNM, Abdulrafiu
Adeniji, called on the Federal
Government to address the challenges
faced by midwives in carrying out their
duties especially in rural areas.