A 14-year-old girl was reportedly divorced by her husband after she allowed a male doctor to attend to her during childbirth.
The teenage mother experienced complications during delivery, leading her to be rushed to the hospital.
Unfortunately, there was no female medical practitioner available at the time to attend to her, and the only option was a male medical professional.
The Executive Director of Nana Women and Girls Initiative, Dr. Fatima Adamu, disclosed the distressing incident, expressing her concern over the lack of gender equity in the recruitment and deployment of medical personnel to rural communities.
According to Dr. Adamu, the young Fulani girl faced difficulties during childbirth, prompting her immediate transfer to a medical facility. The male medical practitioner available at the hospital successfully delivered her baby.
However, when the husband arrived and learned that a male doctor had attended to his wife during labor, he became infuriated and decided to divorce her.
“A 14- year old Fulani girl in Katsina State delivered and had difficulty with delivery, so we had to take her to the hospital and after the delivery, the husband divorced her because she was attended by a man. This young girl was divorced all because she was attended by a man during delivery,” she lamented.
“There is a shortage of health workers despite the production. We are producing health workers far below our needs. Our average population growth is 3.2, but our annual production of nurses and midwives is 2.6, so definitely, there is a gap. That is the latest data available that could be accessed,” she added.