Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central) has called for improved salaries, working conditions and welfare packages for doctors, nurses, midwives and other healthcare workers to encourage them to remain in service, especially in rural communities.
She made the appeal on Monday at the “Unfinished” event organised by Ward-C in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission.
The discussion focused on maternal health, women’s rights and reproductive choices.
Akpoti-Uduaghan said tackling Nigeria’s maternal mortality crisis required more than statistics. It demanded attention to the difficult conditions faced by women, children and the health workers who care for them.
“Doctors and other health workers should have access to adequate remuneration, functional medical equipment, essential medicines, reliable electricity, conducive working environments and opportunities for professional development,” she said.
“Healthcare infrastructure could not function effectively without the human capital required to operate and sustain it.”
She stressed that medical personnel, infrastructure, emergency services, equipment, medicines and workers’ welfare must be treated as interconnected parts of the healthcare system.
Better conditions of service, she added, would help keep professionals committed to their duties in rural areas where they often work under severe constraints.
On maternal mortality, the senator expressed concern about limited access to quality care and emergency services in rural communities.
She questioned whether many facilities had enough staff and equipment to handle complicated pregnancies and newborn emergencies, and whether unreliable electricity could sustain equipment such as incubators.
Akpoti-Uduaghan called for stronger referral systems linking primary healthcare centres with general and specialist hospitals. She also listed functional laboratories, adequate blood supplies, neonatal facilities, emergency transportation, reliable electricity and water as essential components of an effective system.
She suggested that official maternal mortality figures may understate the true situation in rural areas, where repeated deaths can become normalised and some cases go unrecorded.
The lawmaker said her concerns had influenced her decision to build a maternity centre, emphasising the need for practical interventions alongside policy discussions.
She urged greater investment in both healthcare infrastructure and the professionals who deliver services, arguing that improved welfare for doctors and nurses would strengthen care for women and children in underserved communities.
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