Nigeria Faces Maternal Care Crisis With Only 2,200 Gynaecologists for 7 Million Births Yearly
Nigeria’s maternal healthcare system is under growing pressure as the country struggles with a severe shortage of obstetricians and gynaecologists, despite recording nearly seven million births every year.
The Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria has revealed that Nigeria currently has only about 2,200 registered obstetricians and gynaecologists, a figure experts say is far below what is required for a population exceeding 240 million people.
Speaking in an interview, the Second Vice President of the association, Christopher Aimakhu, said the country needs more than 7,000 practising specialists to adequately serve women nationwide.
According to him, the situation is made worse by the uneven distribution of available doctors. Most gynaecologists practise in major cities, leaving rural communities—where maternal deaths are already high—without skilled medical care.
Aimakhu explained that insecurity, including the kidnapping of doctors, poor pay, and lack of modern equipment have forced many specialists to abandon rural postings or leave the country entirely.
As a result, rural areas now account for about 43 per cent of maternal deaths, with estimates ranging between 500 and 800 deaths per 100,000 live births.
Nigeria currently ranks among countries with the highest maternal mortality rates globally and contributes around 34 per cent of maternal deaths worldwide.
The medical expert also linked the crisis to the ongoing “japa” wave, which has drastically reduced the number of doctors practising in Nigeria. He noted that although the country should have over 300,000 doctors, it currently has fewer than 40,000, with even fewer actively practising.
This concern had earlier been echoed by the President of the Nigerian Medical Association, Bala Audu, who said Nigerian doctors are aggressively recruited by countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Dubai because of their strong training and competence.
He disclosed that the doctor-to-patient ratio in Nigeria has worsened to 1 doctor for every 8,000 patients, far from global standards.
Recent figures also show a sharp decline in the number of gynaecologists. While Nigeria reportedly had about 9,000 specialists in 2023, new data suggests the country has lost more than 75 per cent of its gynaecology workforce.
With a fertility rate of 4.8 children per woman, as reported in national demographic surveys, and seven million births annually, experts warn that the shortage of specialists poses a serious threat to maternal and newborn survival.
The World Bank estimates Nigeria’s maternal mortality ratio at 993 deaths per 100,000 live births, while the World Health Organization notes that Nigeria needs hundreds of thousands more midwives and nurses to meet basic care standards.
Aimakhu further revealed that gynaecologists are heavily concentrated in cities such as Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, and Enugu, while states like Kebbi, Niger, Jigawa, and Zamfara have alarmingly few specialists.
In some states, insecurity has driven doctors away entirely. He recalled cases of gynaecologists fleeing Zamfara after kidnappings, making it unsafe for specialists to practise in such areas.
With the continued shortage of skilled doctors and midwives, long queues at antenatal clinics, unattended labour wards, and delayed emergency care have become common realities for pregnant women across the country.
Health experts warn that unless urgent action is taken, Nigeria may struggle to meet the Sustainable Development Goal target of reducing maternal deaths to 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030.
