Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academics at the University of Port Harcourt, Professor Rosemary Ogu, has called for collective action to end preventable deaths during pregnancy and childbirth.

Ogu, a Professor of Reproductive Health and the university’s 216th inaugural lecturer, made the appeal while delivering an inaugural lecture titled Sweet Mother: From Peril to Power in Port Harcourt.

She said every maternal death is more than a medical failure because it leaves children motherless, destabilises families and weakens national development. According to her, maternal health is not merely a women’s issue but a human, justice and development issue.

Ogu said her lecture focused on research findings on why women die during childbirth, how such deaths can be prevented and what government, families, communities, universities and healthcare workers must do.

She called on governments to expand access to quality emergency obstetric care, ensure that labour wards are equipped with blood banks, essential drugs and emergency supplies, and strengthen maternal and child health institutions.

The reproductive health expert also urged communities to encourage pregnant women to attend antenatal clinics and called on men to play a more active role in supporting their wives during pregnancy. She said evidence shows that lack of male involvement contributes to poor maternal outcomes.

Vice Chancellor Professor Owunari Georgewill praised Ogu for using clinical experience, research and advocacy to draw attention to the realities of maternal mortality in Nigeria. He said the university would forward her recommendations to relevant institutions and development partners for possible implementation.

The Executive Secretary of the Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme, Betty Agala, said poverty and delays in accessing care remain major drivers of maternal deaths, stressing the need for sustainable health financing.