The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development has raised fresh concerns over Nigeria’s worsening maternal mortality crisis, revealing that the country now accounts for nearly 20 percent of maternal deaths recorded globally.
The disclosure was made by CJID Programme Manager, Felicia Dairo, during a two day training session for health journalists in Abuja focused on strengthening investigative reporting around Nigeria’s major health challenges.
According to Dairo, the country’s healthcare sector is facing a deep structural crisis driven by weak accountability systems, poor funding, lack of transparency, and ineffective monitoring of public health spending.
She described Nigeria’s maternal mortality ratio as alarmingly high, noting that thousands of women continue to lose their lives from complications linked to childbirth despite repeated promises by government authorities to improve healthcare delivery.
Dairo pointed out that the health sector has consistently received funding below the 15 percent benchmark agreed upon under the Abuja Declaration, a commitment aimed at improving healthcare systems across African countries.
She also expressed concern over the condition of many Primary Health Care centres across Nigeria, stating that several facilities still struggle without access to clean water, stable electricity, and essential medications even though huge sums are reportedly budgeted for healthcare annually.
According to her, poor access to reliable health data and unclear budget documentation have made it difficult for journalists and citizens to properly track how public funds meant for healthcare are spent.
She argued that many government institutions continue to hide systemic failures behind bureaucratic processes and fragmented records, making accountability difficult.
Speaking further, Dairo said news reports often focus on tragic incidents such as women dying during childbirth or communities battling preventable disease outbreaks, yet official statements usually present the healthcare system as functioning effectively.
She warned that relying heavily on government narratives without deeper investigation has weakened accountability journalism and allowed failures in healthcare financing and service delivery to continue unchecked.
“It happens because health data in Nigeria is deliberately scattered across bureaucratic silos. It happens because national budget documents are intentionally opaque,” she said.
Dairo stressed that journalists must move beyond emotional storytelling and embrace data driven investigations capable of exposing how healthcare funds disappear before reaching ordinary Nigerians.
According to her, strong investigative journalism remains one of the most effective tools for demanding accountability and improving healthcare outcomes across the country.
She added that the Abuja training was organised to equip journalists with practical skills for tracking health budgets, analysing complex health data, and uncovering gaps in healthcare accountability.
The workshop focused on key healthcare areas including primary healthcare, maternal and child health, immunisation, family planning, nutrition, and infectious diseases.
