The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says 80 per cent of maternal deaths are caused by unhygienic delivery practices at Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) nationwide.
Mr Bioye Ogunjobi, the UNICEF Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Specialist, made the disclosure at the National Stakeholders’ Workshop on Draft Hygiene Promotion Strategy and Guidelines in Abuja.
According to him, effective provision of WASH facilities will go a long way to promote safe health care.
He explained that in Nigeria, many PHCs do not adhere to minimum WASH standards to provide adequate and safe levels of health care.
He added that “reports say 80 per cent of maternal deaths are caused by unhygienic delivery practices in PHCs across the country.
“However, for a PHCs to work well, they must have good source to water, safe excreta disposal, drainage, hospital waste and hygiene promotion facilities.’’
The WASH specialist said it was worthy to note that inadequate access to water, sanitation and hygiene facilities were known to cause 10 out of 100 hospitalisations in Nigeria.
He stressed the need for stakeholders to see access to WASH as a human right, saying “this pays a vital role in attaining universal health coverage.’’
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