A pregnant woman comes to a primary health centre for a routine check. Her blood pressure is a little high, but nobody flags it. Weeks later, she is rushed to hospital with seizures. It is too late.
That is the scenario Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, wants to prevent. Professor Ibraheem Awowole has secured a US$5 million, three-year grant from the Gates Foundation for a project called Pregnancy Risk Stratification Innovations in Maternal Health, or PRIME.
What PRIME will do
The project will give frontline health workers, often the first to see pregnant women, simple, proven tools to identify those at higher risk and refer them for closer monitoring and treatment. A major focus is pre-eclampsia, a condition that causes dangerously high blood pressure in pregnancy and can lead to seizures, organ damage and death.
“Most women who die from pre-eclampsia could have been saved if screening had been carried out early to detect the risk,” said OAU Provost Professor Bernice Adegbehingbe.
PRIME will run in seven states: Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti, Kano, Kaduna, Gombe and Jigawa. Partners include Jhpiego, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and the state ministries of health. The university says it aims to cut maternal deaths by 60%.
Why it matters
Nigeria accounts for over a quarter of the world’s maternal deaths. Most are preventable, and early screening at the first point of care is one of the cheapest, most effective ways to save mothers.
Know the warning signs
Pregnant women should get their blood pressure checked at every antenatal visit, and seek care urgently for severe headache, blurred vision, sudden swelling of the face or hands, or pain under the ribs.
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