Bixby-NIH Nigeria Research Center

The Bixby Center at University of California, Berkeley & Ahmadu Bello University

The Bixby Center and its partners is conducting research to prevent maternal mortality and morbidity in Zaria, Nigeria. One strategy is promoting girls’<p><p> education

The Bixby Center and its partners is conducting research to prevent maternal mortality and morbidity in Zaria, Nigeria. One strategy is promoting girls’ education

The project:
Working with the Ahmadu Bello University we are conducting community-based research leading to innovative approaches to the prevention of maternal mortality and morbidity, including high fertility as it affects maternal health. We are working in five partnering communities in the Zaria, Northern Nigeria area.

The Population and Reproductive Health Partnership is a 5-year collaboration between Ahmadu Bello University and the Bixby Center, funded by the National Institutes of Health and Fogarty International Center in 2006.

Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) is the premier university in northern Nigeria, with a medical school, teaching hospital, and a large number of linked research institutions.

Why Northern Nigeria?
Nigeria, with a population of approximately 140 million in 2006, is the most populous country in Africa. Despite the country’s enormous oil wealth, poverty is acute and widespread. Moreover, the country has some of the worst social indicators in the world: 1 in 5 children dies before the age of 5; 7 million children are not in school and the maternal mortality ratio in the northern states is among the highest in the world, 1,026 to 1,549 maternal deaths for every 100,000 births.

Girls in Northern Nigeria where the Bixby Center is using results of partnerships multidisciplinary research and community feedback develop strategies to prevent maternal mortality

Population and Reproductive Health Partnership Research Programs

The results of PRHP’s multidisciplinary formative research have been presented to the community in the form of dramas and colorful poster boards. The results and community feedback are being used to develop strategies to prevent maternal mortality, and operations research is being conducted to evaluate their effectiveness.

Strategies to Prevent Maternal Mortality