The Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, WARDC, on
Monday stormed the Lagos State House of Assembly demanding for a probe
into the 26 October incident at the Rauf/Aregbesola Health Centre in
Mosan Okunola Local Council Development Area, Alimosho area of the state
that led to the death of a woman who was in labour.
Mrs. Omowunmi Shonuga, was rushed to the hospital on the said date by
her husband but all efforts by her husband to get the medical officers
to open the gate of the hospital proved abortive.
As it was very early, even his shouts could not get the nurses on duty to come to his wife’s aide.
According to him, one of the hospital staff who came to him, asked
him to take his wife to another hospital. Explanations that his wife was
registered with the hospital fell on deaf ears.
Confirming the incident on behalf of the group, its director, Dr.
Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, said the woman arrived at the hospital, where
she had registered for antenatal care at 5am, but met the gates locked
and without any medical attention, she gave birth in the car.
It was after she gave birth in the car that the much-needed medical
attention came, but at this stage, she had lost a lot of blood.
“She was later referred to the Igando General Hospital, but
encountered delays as no ambulance was available to transfer her and on
arrival at Igando no bed space was available to admit her,” she said.
The group also recalled how Mrs. Obinna Nnanna died at the Lagos
State General Hospital, Gbagada, after giving birth to triplets on 23
September, 2015.
In another incident also, this time, at the Lagos State University
Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, the protesters said in the petition that Mrs.
Oduyoye Folake died after she was detained for three months for failure
to pay her hospital bills.
The protesters said further that there were several reports of people
being denied access to medical attention in hospitals in the state for
failure to bring their spouses for compulsory blood donation.
In the petition addressed to the Speaker of the House, Mudashiru
Obasa, the group said that its findings have shown that despite
government’s efforts towards the reduction of maternal death in the
state, women still experienced financial, infrastructural and
institutional barriers in accessing adequate maternal healthcare in the
state-owned hospitals.
“The attitude of the medical personnel and absence of the needed
resources such as ambulance and bed spaces are factors that contributed
to loss of life.
“The right to life puts an obligation on the state to take measures
to safeguard individuals from arbitrary and preventable losses of life
and this includes protecting women against the unnecessary loss of life
related to pregnancy and childbirth.
“The acts and omission of the hospitals by their negligence violated
the right to life,” the petitioners said, maintaining that it is the
responsibility of the government to protect citizens against the loss of
life especially for women during child birth.
Akiyode-Afolabi said there was a strong obligation to ensure that all
the necessary facilities and adequate human and financial resources
were available to prevent avoidable loss of lives.
“WARDC hereby proposes that Lagos State House of Assembly calls for a
public hearing or independent investigations on the causes of maternal
deaths and the contributory factors. W we believe that the public
hearing will provide an opportunity to hear men and women, who have been
affected by the issue in Lagos State,” they stated.
In response, Speaker Obasa, while sympathising with the families of
the women who lost their lives during childbirth in the hospitals in the
state, said the House would invite the accused hospital in Alimosho, as
well as the Executive Secretary of the Mosan Okunola LCDA over the
issue.
He commended the protesters for being peaceful despite their grievances and for taking the matter before the state Assembly.
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