ABSTRACT
This chapter sets out to analyse the state of maternal health in Nigeria through the lens of the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs). It discusses maternal health as a right and its implications for achieving SDG 3, titled ‘Ensure Healthy Lives and Promote Well-being for all at all Ages.’ This goal requires, among other things, that adequate attention be given to reproductive health and its incorporation into national policies. The current state of maternal health reveals that Nigeria is far from achieving SDG 3, largely due to the biosocial issues that have remained unaddressed for decades. In addition, the legal regime for the protection of human rights falls short of the standards required to ensure maternal health gets the attention that it deserves. Hence, the chapter examines relevant legal provisions with a view to advocating that maternal health be treated as a basic human right. The chapter uses the prevalence of vesicovaginal fistula among women in northern Nigeria as an example of the relationship between maternal health and socio-economic and cultural issues. Therefore, the chapter recommends ways to control maternal health problems in Nigeria. An important measure will be to make provision for recognizable and enforceable maternal health rights in Nigeria.
