The Federal Government has set a target of reaching about 2.9 million pregnant women and families by 2028 as part of efforts to reduce maternal and newborn deaths across the country.
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Mohammed Ali Pate, disclosed this on Monday at the flag-off of the distribution of maternal and newborn support materials at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.
The government distributed 215,000 MAMA kits, 40,000 maternal food-support packs and 40,000 sets of newborn clothing to vulnerable women and families nationwide.
Pate said the intervention was part of the Federal Government’s wider strategy to expand access to essential healthcare and reverse the country’s high burden of preventable maternal and neonatal deaths.
He said the government’s sector-wide approach was targeting a 30 per cent reduction in maternal mortality and a 20 per cent reduction in newborn mortality by 2028.
According to him, the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative, MAMII, is already being implemented in several states, with emphasis on emergency obstetric and newborn care, transportation, referral systems and stronger primary healthcare delivery.
The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who flagged off the distribution, called for stronger collaboration among governments at all levels, traditional and religious institutions, development partners and philanthropists to tackle maternal and newborn mortality.
She said the scale of the challenge required collective action, particularly to reach women in poor, underserved and hard-to-reach communities.
“This occasion represents a further step towards ensuring that every Nigerian child has a healthy start in life and that no woman loses her life while giving birth,” she said.
The First Lady said the MAMII intervention was designed to encourage greater use of antenatal, delivery and postnatal services and aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on Health.
She described MAMII as a national intervention bringing together critical stakeholders to tackle preventable maternal and newborn deaths through greater awareness, emergency care and improved referral systems.
“As a mother, I believe pregnancy and childbirth should be moments of hope and joy, with every woman having access to quality care. However, social, economic, cultural, and logistical barriers still exist. This is what makes today’s flag-off particularly significant,” she said.
According to her, the 215,000 MAMA kits and bags constituted the second batch of the intervention, following the distribution of 110,000 kits in 2025.
She said the government was complementing the kits with 40,000 maternal food-support packs and 40,000 sets of essential newborn clothing, with plans to expand the intervention to additional local government areas where uptake of MAMII services remained low.
The First Lady said the incentives were intended to encourage economically disadvantaged pregnant women to attend antenatal clinics, prepare adequately for childbirth and remain connected to healthcare services after delivery.
“The newborn clothing represents the administration’s commitment to welcoming every Nigerian child with dignity, warmth, and care,” she said.
“The maternal food support equally recognises that the health and nutrition of a mother are essential to a healthy pregnancy, safe delivery, and a healthy newborn.”
She also highlighted interventions she had supported in maternal and child healthcare, including the provision of professional kits to midwives, retraining of frontline health workers and advocacy against mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis.
She urged state and local governments, traditional and religious leaders, development partners and philanthropists to support the Federal Government in ensuring that the materials reached women who needed them most.
Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, described Nigeria’s maternal mortality burden as “one of the most sobering realities of our nation”.
Figures presented at the event showed that Nigeria accounts for nearly 39 per cent of global maternal deaths.
Salako said the government was intensifying efforts to expand antenatal care, skilled birth attendance, emergency medical services and timely referrals, particularly for women facing poverty, distance and other barriers to healthcare.
He said the administration’s message to Nigerian women was that “help continues to come and help is very, very close, and it is coming faster”.
The government said about 642,000 pregnant women had so far been moved to healthcare facilities within their communities, while more than 85,000 women had been transported for emergency care.
It added that more than 93,000 women had benefited from free life-saving surgical procedures nationwide, with the interventions contributing to a reported 22 per cent reduction in maternal mortality in facilities equipped to provide the services.
More than 250 health facilities across Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Kano and Katsina states are implementing MAMII, with more than 42,000 women and 1,700 newborns reported to have benefited directly from emergency obstetric and newborn care.
Nearly 79,000 beneficiaries have also been transported to health facilities, while antenatal attendance and facility deliveries reportedly increased by about 20 per cent within one quarter in programme-covered areas.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Senator Ipalibo Banigo, commended the Federal Government for making maternal and newborn survival a priority but stressed the need for sustained legislative and institutional support.
She called for increased health-sector funding, improved primary healthcare facilities and wider access to emergency services, saying reducing maternal deaths required close collaboration between the executive and legislature.
World Health Organisation Country Representative, Dr Pavel Ursu, said the success of the intervention would ultimately depend on whether it improved women’s access to quality healthcare and saved lives.
“Primary health care is so important. It brings life-saving care closer to families, builds trust, and connects communities to wider health systems,” he said.
Ursu urged the authorities to make better use of data to identify gaps and direct resources to communities with the greatest needs.
“Data should show us who is being reached, where gaps remain and where action is most important. Implementation will therefore matter as much as the ambition.”
He also called for greater ownership and domestic financing by states, stressing that sustainable progress would have to be driven by Nigerian institutions.
“Lasting progress must be rooted in Nigerian institutions, budgets, and accountability,” he said.
The WHO representative also paid tribute to healthcare workers, saying their skills and commitment remained central to translating government policies and investments into lives saved.
“Every day, often in difficult environments, they stand behind women and families at the most vulnerable moments. Their skills, dedication and compassion turn policies into lifesaving,” he said.
Other development partners, including the World Bank, stressed the need for sustained financing, accountability and stronger health systems, noting that functional facilities, skilled personnel, effective referral systems and quality healthcare must accompany the distribution of material incentives.
The event was attended by senior government officials, lawmakers, health-sector agencies, development partners, traditional and religious leaders, civil society organisations, healthcare workers and beneficiaries.
Those present included Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Dr Mariya Mahmoud; Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye; Director-General of the National Health Insurance Authority, Dr Kelechi Ohiri; and Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Prof. Muyi Aina.
Representatives of the Sultan of Sokoto, Christian Association of Nigeria, UNICEF, and other development partners also attended the flag-off.
Discussion0