Available evidence indicates that women suffer considerable misery, suffering and death while trying to reproduce mankind.  Each year, over half a million women die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth worldwide and 70,000 die from unsafe abortion, while an estimated two million women currently live with obstetric fistula in the developing world.  Additionally, up to 580 million people (5-8%) of couples experience infertility, while about 130 million women and girls have been genitally mutilated.    

As compared to the rest of the world, Nigeria accounts for a significant proportion of these problems.  Although only 2% of the world’s  population, Nigeria accounts for 10% of global estimates of maternal deaths, 20% of abortion-related deaths, and 40% of obstetric fistulas.  One in 5 Nigerian couples are infertile, while 40% of all Nigerian women have been genitally mutilated. These problems are a constant source of sorrow to Nigerian women accounting for ostracization, physical and emotional violence, and the social and economic disempowerment of
women. 
 
Over the past 20 years, my work has focused on identifying the medical and social determinants associated with women’s reproduction in Nigeria, leading to the generation of evidence-based data needed for action and policy formulation to improve maternal health.