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VOL. 10, ISSUE 4 (2024)
Understanding the role of traditional birth attendants (TBAs): What opportunities for inclusion into the primary health care system in Nigeria?
Authors
Kenneth U Onye
Abstract
Basic Obstetrics Health care services (BOCs) is among the most
important health systems components that requires urgent strengthening in order
to abort the persistent and disappointing effect of high maternal mortality
rate (MMR) in Africa. This is important for the achievement of the SDGs target
3.1. For most of the low and middle income countries (LMICs) in Africa – for
instance – the community-based traditional birth attendant (TBAs) hold enormous
potential for addressing this menace. Yet these potentials are largely untapped
and almost always relegated by orthodox medicine practitioners including those
from Africa. Yet the continuous - and perhaps- misleading sole reliance on
outfox medicine practices particularly in the area of basic obstetrics cares
services has yielded disgraceful result for many LMICs. For Nigeria – for
instance – most of the maternal, neonatal and postpartum health indicators for
the country are far below from the SDG-3 targets. Worse still, the needed
research on the potential role of the TBAs and the possible strategies for
integrating them into the mainstream orthodox obstetric health services appears
to have remained largely in the black-box even. This study reviews the roles of
TBAs in Nigeria and suggests strategies for integrating them into BOCs in
Nigeria – using Lagos state as a reference point. The finding shows that home
delivery which is an integral part of TBAs delivery hold potential for
improvement in maternal and child health. As a result, it recommends that the
panacea to high mortality rate is to harness the potentials of the TBAs
especially via their strategic training and integration into the formal BOCs in
particular and the primary Health Care Services in general.
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Pages:74-81
How to cite this article:
Kenneth U Onye "Understanding the role of traditional birth attendants (TBAs): What opportunities for inclusion into the primary health care system in Nigeria?". International Journal of Commerce and Management Research, Vol 10, Issue 4, 2024, Pages 74-81
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