Abstract
In the last 15 years, global efforts have nearly halved maternal mortality worldwide. However, Nigeria still faces a staggering burden of maternal mortality, leading the world in total number of maternal deaths per year.2,3 In 2015 alone, 58,000 Nigerian women lost their lives to pregnancy and childbirth-related causes. This burden is not borne equally across the country. For example, Kaduna State, the third most populous state in the country and focus geography of this paper, has a maternal mortality rate that is nearly 50 percent higher than the national average. Additional efforts are urgently needed. This advocacy paper outlines actions that advocates and decisionmakers in Nigeria can take to increase access to lifesaving maternal health products to save mothers’ lives.
