THAT Nigeria still leads the pack in both infant and maternal mortality rates in the world, only behind India, is, to say the least, pathetic, disgusting and therefore unacceptable, more so when you consider the abundant resources at the country's disposal.

The poor rating of Nigeria, which dominated discourse at a recent dissemination workshop on 'Assessment of Infection Control Practices in Delivery Care Units in Edo State', once again, advanced the need for government at all levels to prioritise maternal health policies and practices for achievement of the health targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

Only recently, the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon was in the country to see for himself the level of government's intervention as it relates to infant and maternal health, the extent of the country's commitment to women's issues in terms of providing the appropriate policy base, and requisite investments for achievement of the health targets of the MDGs.

The UN boss was apparently impressed by what he was shown during the visit, which was to further propagate the "Every Woman, Every Child" global health campaign launched last September during the MDGs Summit at the UN headquarters in New York, USA.

The Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health, which emerged from the UN MDGs Summit, spells out what countries need to do to accelerate progress in the area of infant and maternal health, and calls for a bold, coordinated effort, building on what has been achieved so far, locally, nationally, regionally and globally.

It equally calls on all partners to unite and take action, through enhanced financing, strengthened policy positions and improved service delivery, on women's and children's health.

The summary of the commitments include saving 16 million lives by 2015, preventing 33 million unwanted pregnancies, protecting 120 million children from pneumonia and 88 million children from stunting, advancing the control of deadly diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS, and ensuring access, for women and children, to quality facilities and skilled health workers.

The international community mobilised $40 billion for the global initiative, specifically to tackle maternal and infant mortality.

President Jonathan, on his part, had pledged $500,000 for the next three years as part of the country's commitment to women's issues, while receiving in audience the UN boss at the State House, Abuja.

We urge the President to ensure that the money is judiciously used for what it is meant, because the state of infant and maternal mortality in the country is still far from the ideal.

For instance, various studies have shown that the slowest improvements in the MDGs for reducing child and maternal mortality rates to one-third of their 1990 levels by 2015 have occurred in Africa as a whole and Nigeria in particular.

This is confirmed by a recent study, sponsored jointly by the World Health Organisation, WHO, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which identifies Nigeria as the second worst case in neonatal deaths, concluding that it may take the country, among others along the same path, some 150 years before they could meet up with new-born survival rates in the United States of America, USA, or the United Kingdom, UK!

Nigeria ranks high in infant mortality rate with about 105 to 1,000 live births, and in rising under-five mortality rate with about 178 to 1,000 live births. And this is despite recent medical and pharmaceutical advances!

In addition, more than 144 women die daily in the country from pregnancy related complications.

A breakdown of this disturbing picture shows that between 800 and 1,500 women die in every 100,000 live births as pregnancy-induced deaths claim one woman every 10 minutes. Thousands of others experience injuries, infections, diseases or disabilities that can cause lifelong suffering every year, among which are obstetric fistula or Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF), ruptured uterus and paralyses.

Given this poor ranking of Nigeria by both the WHO and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), it means that the country contributes over 10 per cent of the world's total estimate of maternal deaths.

Sadly, most of these deaths and disabilities are avoidable. For instance, where deliveries are supervised by skilled health personnel with access to emergency obstetric care, and where women receive adequate nutrition and basic health-care services, the risk of maternal death is less.

Various tiers of government must, therefore, come to terms with the fact that preventing maternal deaths and disabilities are pressing human rights issues demanding urgent attention in terms of increased resource allocation and political commitment.

Interventions must, indeed, be scaled up so that essential care can be provided throughout pregnancy, at childbirth, and during the post-natal period.

We believe that significant reduction in maternal mortality and pregnancy-related illnesses can easily be achieved, considering that among the factors inhibiting provision of maternal health care in Nigeria are inadequate or lack of implementation of laws and policies, prevalence of systemic corruption, weak infrastructure, ineffective healthcare services and lack of access to skilled health care providers.

Basic measures such as prevention and proper treatment of malaria, provision of adequate nutrition and ante-natal care for mothers-to-be, training and incorporation of traditional birth attendants into policies of government, since most rural women rely on them for delivery, and ensuring that health centres offer emergency obstetric care, would go a long way towards saving the lives of women and their children.

Doctors and nurses must be attracted and retained to man primary health care facilities in the rural areas where high incidences of these deaths and disabilities occur. This is in addition to the introduction, by the Federal Government, the various states and local governments, of free and sustainable maternal/child care programmes as well as adult literacy schemes to educate both the women and their husbands on the need for proper child spacing, attendance of ante-natal programmes and immunization of their babies.

Concrete steps must, indeed, be taken to stem the tide of maternal mortality in the country if the contributions of women to the economy, which are central to the wellbeing of the nation, are to be maximised.