In a stunning and heartbreaking–commercial, renowned Nollywood icons, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Adesuwa Etomi, and Iretiola Doyle unite to shine a barely lit spotlight on maternal health in Nigeria.
The commercial stems from a collaborative effort with the Maternal Reproductive Health Research (MRHR) collective, an NGO that aims to reduce the maternal mortality rate in Nigeria by five percent by Dec. 2023 through various means such as financial support.
Taking flight (literally) with a plane full of pregnant women that crashes moments later, the two-minute commercial sees RMD stepping in to reveal a harrowing truth: 82,000 Nigerian expectant mothers lose their lives during childbirth annually from preventable causes. This figure translates to about 220 a day!
This staggering statistic accounts for 13% of the global total, as Dr. Mobolanle Balogun, Associate Professor of Public Health at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos reported. It isn’t “just a statistic; it’s a crisis,” laments RMD mid-course.
The diverse cultural and religious attires donned by the victims and the extras in the commercial symbolize the crisis’ indiscriminate nature.
Noteworthy is the selfless dedication of the actors, who volunteered their time and talent for this vital health campaign, underscoring the philanthropic spirit of industry icons.
The evocative message of “No woman should die while giving life” rings powerfully at the end of the commercial.
Watch the commercial here: #WeMenForHer TV Commercial
For more information and to support this cause, visit www.mrhrcollective.org