The First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, speaking at the launch of a new phase of interventions under the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII) at the State House, Abuja, where she flagged off the distribution of incentives targeted at pregnant and vulnerable women to encourage timely use of maternal and newborn health services.
“Pregnancy is not a disease, and no woman should lose her life while giving birth,” the Coordinating Minister said, noting that the Federal Government is strengthening primary healthcare facilities, human resources, essential commodities and affordability of services, while addressing barriers that prevent women from accessing timely care.
Launching the distribution, the First Lady said improving maternal and newborn health remained critical to ensuring that every Nigerian child has 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, and called for stronger collaboration among government, healthcare providers, development partners and communities to reduce preventable deaths.
The First Lady commended the health sector, under the leadership of Prof. Pate, for its commitment to improving health outcomes for Nigerians.
Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, has reiterated that no woman should lose her life while giving birth, stressing that reducing maternal and neonatal mortality requires action on both the supply and demand sides of healthcare delivery.
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In outlining the broader actions being taken by the Federal Government, Prof. Pate disclosed that more than 60,000 women have received free Caesarean sections and other emergency obstetric services through the National Health Insurance Authority, while more than 120,000 frontline health workers have been retrained. He added that thousands of health facilities have been revitalised and more than 6,000 women affected by obstetric fistula have received corrective treatment and empowerment support.
Against the backdrop of Nigeria’s persistently high maternal mortality burden, the Honourable Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, said Nigeria’s maternal mortality burden remains unacceptably high, with a Nigerian woman facing roughly a 1-in-19 lifetime risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes, according to the 2023–24 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. He noted that Nigeria accounts for close to 29 percent of global maternal deaths.
Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako said MAMII, launched by the Federal Government in November 2024, targets 172 Local Government Areas across 33 states, representing about 20 percent of the country’s LGAs but accounting for roughly 55 percent of maternal deaths. He said the initiative aims to reduce maternal mortality by 30 percent and neonatal mortality by 20 percent in the targeted areas by 2028, while providing free, comprehensive care to about 2.9 million pregnant women.
On progress under the initiative, he added that more than 250 facilities are already implementing MAMII in Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Ogun, with over 32,000 women and 1,700 newborns benefiting from emergency obstetric and neonatal care. Through NEMSAS, nearly 79,000 beneficiaries have been transported to care, about 60 percent of them pregnant women, while fourth-visit antenatal care attendance in MAMII LGAs has risen by 20 percent in one quarter.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening coordinated action across government and with partners to ensure that investments in maternal and newborn health translate into timely access to quality care and fewer preventable deaths.
