Every two minutes, a woman dies from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. The dire reality of maternal mortality is especially evident in Nigeria—more than 700 women suffered preventable maternal deaths in 2023.
According to a 2023 report by the World Bank Group, Nigeria heads the global ranking for maternal mortality, with a ratio of 993 deaths per 100,000 live births. Yet this was a slight decline from the 1047 deaths per 100,000 live births reported in 2020, when the country trailed behind South Sudan and Chad.
Even when babies survive childbirth, the loss of their mothers casts a long and often fatal shadow. In a recent study of 76 maternal deaths, 64 infants were born alive, but more than two-thirds of those children died before their fifth birthday.
Doyin Amobeda, a public health advocate, is working to stem the tide, tackling the root causes of maternal mortality and advocating for affordable health insurance schemes for women in impoverished areas.
Raised in a middle-class household in Akure, southern Nigeria, Doyin lived a quiet, protected life. Her father, who worked in the security sector, was highly protective, and Doyin’s early years revolved around books, church and her siblings.
Following in the footsteps of her elder brother, Doyin initially expressed a desire to study medicine. A national error resulting in a reduction in her grades denied her admission into medicine. She got enrolled for physiology instead at the University of Ilorin.
Still, she remained close to the world of medicine, living on the medical campus, forming friendships with clinical students and even developing an interest in obstetrics and gynaecology. But she knew her career wasn’t in a hospital. She was rather drawn to education and advocacy.
One day, she sought her father’s approval to attend a public-health outreach hosted by some students. Observing how the volunteers explained basic health tips to people in underserved communities stirred an awakening in her.
I could do this, she thought to herself.
After completing her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in 2021, Doyin bagged a scholarship for a master’s degree in public health at Western Illinois University in the U.S., eventually graduating in December 2024.
Living abroad changed her.
“So if you want to get things done, you want to get noticed, you want to make an impact, you have to speak up,” she said.
Gone was the quiet reserved girl from Akure.
A tragic incident that affected her was the death of a family friend during pregnancy. Fearing high hospital bills, she had delayed visiting a doctor for a persistent chest pain. When her husband eventually decided to take her to the hospital, her condition had worsened. The woman died at the gate.
That experience strengthened Doyin’s resolve to fight for maternal health.
In spring 2024, she began The Public Health Place, a nonprofit organisation that focuses on maternal health and primary health in general. Initially it existed as a digital platform offering education on basic health routines.
In the months that followed, it evolved into grassroots policy work and advocacy, addressing critical gaps in preventive health knowledge. The organisation adopts clear, concise messaging targeted at average Nigerians who do not have internet access or understand medical jargon.
The Maternal Health Insurance Advocacy (MHIA) project, its flagship campaign, helped to raise awareness about maternal health insurance and push for low-cost insurance schemes for pregnant women.
Over 800 volunteers from across Nigeria helped to collect data, host sensitisation campaigns, and distribute accurate health information to Nigerian households.
In a survey of 300 women across 21 states, most respondents reported never having heard of maternal health insurance policies. One respondent even likened the National Health Insurance Scheme to a Ponzi scheme.
For Doyin, this confirmed a critical gap in maternal health. “Even if the government sets up policies,” she explains, “if no one knows about them, it’s as good as useless.”
She highlights the contrast between the national aggressive response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuing neglect of maternal health.
“COVID-19 never killed someone every two minutes in Nigeria,” she emphasises. “But maternal health does. Yet it doesn’t scare anyone enough to act.”
Doyin advocates for a maternal insurance system that begins at conception and continues through at least six months postpartum to prevent conditions such as preeclampsia, postpartum haemorrhage, and untreated infections that may emerge weeks after delivery.
Her proposed model is income-based. For example, a market trader earning ₦15,000 a month could contribute ₦1,000 monthly to access full maternal coverage, including antenatal care, diagnostics, emergency interventions, and postnatal support.
With government subsidies and partnerships with Health Maintenance Organisations(HMO), Doyin believes uptake would soar and maternal deaths would plummet.
Yet the challenges are steep. Policies in states like Oyo and Benue exist on paper but are poorly publicised and rarely implemented. In many cases, there’s no online information about state-level maternal health schemes—not even enrolment procedures or guidelines for eligibility.
This lack of visibility erodes public trust. Many women delay care either because of cost, distance, or the belief that help won’t come. Some turn to traditional birth attendants or rely on self-medication, often with tragic consequences.
“All I want,” she says, “is for Nigeria to treat maternal health with the same urgency we gave COVID-19. Just for one year. Let’s see what happens.”
Upcoming initiatives by The Public Health Place include first-aid training, health myth-busting, and rural outreach campaigns for women without access to social media or digital platforms. Doyin is also partnering with radio stations, newspapers, and local TV stations to reach wider, offline audiences.
The long-term goal is clear: institutional change. With data from the MHIA project currently being analysed, Doyin plans to present detailed policy recommendations to federal ministries, state health commissioners, HMOs, and private partners. Her team is already preparing briefs and pitch decks.
Her unwavering belief is that the Nigerian woman deserves better.
Through the Public Health Place, Doyin Amobeda is fighting to make that belief a reality. And in a country where every two minutes could mean the loss of a mother, her work couldn’t be more urgent.
In Nigeria, maternal mortality is a critical issue, with a high ratio of deaths compared to live births, and many childbirth survivors lose their mothers, affecting infant survival rates. Doyin Amobeda is championing maternal health through advocacy and awareness, having established The Public Health Place, a nonprofit focused on improving maternal and general primary health. This includes the Maternal Health Insurance Advocacy (MHIA) project, aimed at promoting low-cost maternal health insurance schemes. Her organization targets underrepresented Nigerian communities, providing essential health education and addressing gaps in preventive health knowledge.
Despite existing policies, such as in Oyo and Benue, being poorly implemented and publicized, Doyin emphasizes the need for a robust maternal insurance system that supports women from conception to postpartum. She advocates for a model that is income-based, facilitating access with a minimal monthly contribution alongside government subsidies. Her efforts are also extending to rural outreach campaigns and partnerships with local media to amplify their reach.
Urgent institutional change is sought, as Doyin plans to use data and insights derived from her projects for future policy proposals. Her pressing call is for maternal health to be prioritized with an urgency similar to COVID-19, with hopes this will significantly lower the maternal mortality rate in Nigeria. Her dedication to changing the narrative of maternal health is urgent and essential in a country enduring such high stakes.
