By Fatima Saka
The Federal Government has set a target to reduce maternal mortality by 30 per cent and neonatal mortality by 20 per cent in 172 high-burden Local Government Areas (LGAs) by 2028, as it intensifies efforts to improve access to maternal and newborn healthcare.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja at the national flag-off of incentives designed to increase utilisation of maternal and newborn care services.
Salako said the 172 LGAs, spread across 33 states, represented only about 20 per cent of Nigeria’s LGAs but accounted for 55 per cent of maternal deaths in the country.
He said the intervention was being implemented under the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII), launched by the Federal Government in November 2024, with the goal of reaching 2.9 million pregnant women with free, timely and comprehensive care.
According to him, the initiative is responding to the country’s “sobering” maternal health statistics, with Nigeria accounting for nearly 29 per cent of global maternal deaths.
“Behind every one of these figures is a mother, a child, a family and a community diminished,” he said.
Salako said MAMII had already been implemented in Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Ogun states, with more than 250 health facilities actively participating in the programme.
He added that over 32,000 women and 1,700 newborns had so far benefited directly from emergency obstetric and neonatal care under the initiative.
The minister said the National Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System (NEMSAS) had also transported nearly 79,000 beneficiaries to healthcare facilities, with pregnant women accounting for about 60 per cent of those conveyed.
He noted that the emergency transport intervention was helping to address delays in accessing lifesaving maternal and newborn services.
Salako further disclosed that antenatal care attendance had recorded a 20 per cent increase in the number of women completing at least four visits within a single quarter in LGAs implementing MAMII.
He said the newly launched incentives were designed to reinforce behaviours that could significantly improve maternal and newborn survival, particularly early antenatal registration, delivery in health facilities and postnatal care.
The minister said the Federal Government would scale up the intervention nationally in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to reducing preventable maternal and newborn deaths.
He said the administration was determined to ensure that “no woman loses her life while trying to give life.”
Salako commended development partners, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, UNFPA, Global Financing Facility and USAID, for their technical and financial support to Nigeria’s health system.
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He also acknowledged the contribution of the First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, through the Renewed Hope Initiative, particularly in strengthening the capacity and welfare of frontline health workers and supporting vulnerable women, children and families.
The minister said the Federal Government’s message to Nigerian women was that maternal and newborn healthcare support was being brought “closer” and “faster” to communities.
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