By Mercy Odeh (Content Editor)

The Federal Government has stepped up efforts to reduce Nigeria’s high maternal and neonatal mortality rate, targeting vulnerable pregnant women with incentives and expanded access to emergency obstetric and newborn care under the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII).

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, said no woman should lose her life while giving birth, stressing that tackling maternal mortality required interventions on both the supply and demand sides of healthcare delivery.

Pate spoke on Monday in Abuja at the launch of a new phase of MAMII interventions, where the First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, flagged off the distribution of incentives to pregnant and vulnerable women to encourage timely utilisation of maternal and newborn health services.

“Pregnancy is not a disease, and no woman should lose her life while giving birth,” Pate said.

He explained that the Federal Government was strengthening primary healthcare facilities, human resources, essential commodities and affordability of services, while also addressing barriers that prevent women from accessing care when needed.

The Minister disclosed that more than 60,000 women had received free Caesarean sections and other emergency obstetric services through the National Health Insurance Authority, while over 120,000 frontline health workers had been retrained.

He added that thousands of health facilities had been revitalised, while more than 6,000 women affected by obstetric fistula had received corrective treatment and empowerment support.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako, said Nigeria’s maternal mortality burden remained unacceptably high, with a Nigerian woman facing about a one-in-19 lifetime risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes, according to the 2023–24 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey.

Salako said Nigeria accounts for nearly 29 per cent of global maternal deaths, underscoring the urgency of interventions aimed at improving access to quality maternal and newborn healthcare.

He said MAMII, launched by the Federal Government in November 2024, covers 172 Local Government Areas across 33 states, representing about 20 per cent of Nigeria’s LGAs but accounting for roughly 55 per cent of maternal deaths.

According to him, the initiative is targeting a 30 per cent reduction in maternal mortality and a 20 per cent reduction in neonatal mortality in the selected areas by 2028, while providing free, comprehensive care to about 2.9 million pregnant women.

Salako said more than 250 facilities were already implementing MAMII in Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Ogun states, with over 32,000 women and 1,700 newborns benefiting from emergency obstetric and neonatal care.

He added that nearly 79,000 beneficiaries had been transported to healthcare facilities through the National Emergency Medical Treatment and Ambulance System (NEMSAS), with pregnant women accounting for about 60 per cent of the beneficiaries.

He further disclosed that fourth-visit antenatal care attendance in MAMII LGAs had increased by 20 per cent within one quarter.

Also speaking at the event, Nigeria’s First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu said improving maternal and newborn health was critical to ensuring that every Nigerian child had a healthy start in life.

She linked the intervention to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and its focus on human capital development, while calling for stronger collaboration among government, healthcare providers, development partners and communities to reduce preventable maternal and neonatal deaths.

She also commended the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, under Pate’s leadership, for its efforts to improve health outcomes across the country.

The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare reaffirmed its commitment to coordinated action with state governments, healthcare providers, development partners and communities to ensure that investments in maternal and newborn health translate into timely access to quality care and fewer preventable deaths.