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Lagos – In a renewed pact, health journalists and civil society organisations ((CSOs) have classified maternal and child deaths in Lagos as a public health priority, urging improved healthcare systems, transparent monitoring, and greater public involvement to safeguard women and children.
Tagged, Lagos State Unified Media Health Coalition, supported by the International Society of Media in Public Health (ISMPH), the new accountability drive is aimed at closing the tragic information and system gaps that continue to claim the lives of mothers and children across the state.
The coalition insists that maternal mortality must be reframed as a public health issue — one that requires coordinated reporting, policy scrutiny, and community‑level awareness.
Information As Public Health Tool
Coalition leaders argue that weak information flow and poor public awareness are fuelling preventable deaths. Mr Solomon Dogo, Director of Programmes, explained that while government has invested in health facilities, many residents remain unaware of where or how to access services. “If people do not know where to access the services, that becomes a problem,” he said. Fragmented reporting has left gaps in knowledge about antenatal care, immunisation, and primary healthcare services.
The coalition’s agenda now includes investigative reporting, tracking of health interventions, and monitoring of maternal and child health programmes. The goal is to ensure that health communication is impactful enough to influence behaviour, policy response, and service delivery.
Structural Barriers To Care
Mrs Vivian Ihechu, Chairperson of the coalition and President of the Health Writers Association of Nigeria, emphasised that structural barriers remain critical. Financing constraints, weak health system linkages, and poor emergency care continue to undermine progress. She cited the Lagos State health insurance scheme, Ilera Eko, as an example of a programme that many mothers simply do not know exists. “Some mothers do not even know these services exist. That is where the media becomes critical. We must amplify the information and also hold government accountable to promises made in the health sector,” she said.
Ihechu also raised concerns about blood availability in public hospitals, where reliance on commercial donors often delays emergency maternal care. For women in labour, such delays can be fatal.
Strengthening Health Journalism
The coalition’s agenda spans maternal and child health, immunisation, nutrition, adolescent health, primary healthcare delivery, and health financing transparency. Mr Sola Ogundipe, President of the Lagos State Accountability Mechanism for Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition, and Health Editor of Vanguard Newspapers, called for stronger investment in health journalism. He noted that reporters face constraints including limited funding, restricted access to data, and rising misinformation pressures from social media. “Without structured support in training, data access, and reporting tools, the quality and consistency of reporting on maternal and child health will remain weak,” he warned.
Synergy For Public Health Impact
Mrs. Chioma Umeha, Chairman of the Lagos State Media Advocacy Working Group (registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission as the Society for Media Advocacy on Health, Nigeria, SOMAH), explained that the coalition itself represents a new model of synergy.
Umeha elaborated that four organisations working in health advocacy and reporting have aligned under ISMPH to strengthen impact through coordinated action. “We are here because of the need for synergy among all actors, especially in the media, to ensure improved reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health in Lagos State and at large, Nigeria,” she said.
Her group has long worked on reproductive health advocacy, including family planning uptake, with support from partners such as Pathfinder International. “We have success stories, especially in several local governments in Lagos State,” she added.
Immunisation As Public Health Priority
The coalition has also placed immunisation at the centre of its agenda. Mrs Kikelomo Oduyebo, Lagos State Coordinator of the Network of Reproductive Health Journalists of Nigeria, warned that gaps in immunisation coverage remain a major driver of preventable child deaths. Sustained misinformation and low awareness have contributed to “zero‑dose” and under‑immunised children in high‑density communities such as Alimosho and Ikorodu. “If mothers are not taking their children for immunisation, children will die of vaccine‑preventable diseases. The media must continue to educate communities and push for improved health funding,” she said.
Building Public Health Accountability Framework
The coalition’s meeting brought together stakeholders from development and health organisations including the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Gates Foundation, EngenderHealth, the Legislative Initiative for Sustainable Development, and the Lagos State Ministry of Health. Their participation underscored the coalition’s ambition to build a public health accountability framework that connects government, media, and communities.
By reframing maternal and child health as a public health agenda, the coalition is demanding that interventions be measured not only by policies announced but by lives saved. Journalists are positioning themselves as watchdogs, ensuring that health promises translate into real outcomes for families.
The Agenda Ahead
The coalition’s public health agenda rests on three interconnected pillars. First, it seeks to achieve information equity, ensuring that mothers and families know where and how to access services. Second, it is committed to system accountability, monitoring government programmes, financing, and service delivery to ensure promises are kept. Finally, it emphasises community engagement, amplifying voices at the grassroots to improve uptake of services such as antenatal care, immunisation, and family planning.
A Call To Action
Behind the coalition’s technical plans lies a sobering reality; mothers should not die giving life, and children should not die from diseases that vaccines can prevent. The coalition’s accountability drive is not only about policies and programmes; it is about dignity, survival, and the responsibility of society to protect its most vulnerable.
With rapid urban growth in Lagos intensifying maternal and child health challenges, journalists and advocates are pressing for urgent action, stronger investment, and transparent accountability.