Nigerian Government Expenditure, Economic Productivity and the Prevention of Maternal Mortality: A Call to Action

Health is wealth and in order to ensure sustainable productivity in a country, citizens must be in good health. The Government is the major contributor to the financing of health care and thus ensuring that the optimal care is provided for its populace. Nigeria presently has the second highest absolute number of maternal deaths in the world. This manuscript aims to assess the Nigerian government's expenditure on health as well as its impact on maternal mortality and economic productivity. Expenditure on health was found to be yielding fruits, this was however below expectations as the rate of decline of maternal mortality ratio was not as high as the rate of increase in the GDP. Investment of more resources in health care remains crucial for improved health indices and consequently higher productivity in Nigeria.