The Nigerian government has flagged off new incentives aimed at increasing the utilisation of maternal and newborn healthcare services as part of efforts to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths in Nigeria.
The incentives were launched by the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, on Monday at the State House, Abuja, as part of the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII).
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The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare said the incentives are intended to address barriers preventing women and newborns from accessing timely, high-quality, life-saving healthcare services.
In a statement signed by the Assistant Director, Information and Public Relations, Ado Bako, the ministry said the intervention is expected to encourage the “greater utilisation of available services.”
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Progress under initiative
Speaking at the event, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, said MAMII was developed under the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative to address both the supply and demand sides of maternal healthcare.
Mr Pate noted that the intervention includes strengthening primary healthcare facilities, human resources, essential commodities and affordability of services.
“Pregnancy is not a disease,” Mr Pate said, stressing that no woman should lose her life while giving birth.
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Highlighting the progress under the initiative, he said more than 60,000 women had received free Caesarean sections and other emergency obstetric services through the National Health Insurance Authority.
Mr Pate also said more than 120,000 frontline health workers had been retrained.
He added that thousands of healthcare facilities had been revitalised, while more than 6,000 women affected by obstetric fistula had received corrective treatment and empowerment support.
He said the incentives being introduced under MAMII would encourage pregnant women to access antenatal care, skilled birth attendance and other essential services.
Reduction in maternal, neonatal deaths
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, said Nigeria’s maternal mortality burden remains “unacceptably high”.
Mr Salako said the 2023/2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey indicates that a Nigerian woman faces approximately a one-in-19 lifetime risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes.
He added that Nigeria accounts for close to 29 per cent of global maternal deaths, underscoring the need for sustained and targeted interventions.
According to Mr Salako, MAMII was launched by the federal government in November 2024 and targets 172 local government areas (LGAs) across 33 states.
The minister said the targeted LGAs represent about 20 per cent of the country’s LGAs but account for approximately 55 per cent of maternal deaths.
The initiative aims to reduce maternal mortality by 30 per cent and neonatal mortality by 20 per cent in the targeted areas by 2028, while providing free, timely and comprehensive care to about 2.9 million pregnant women.
Emergency care
Mr Salako said more than 250 health facilities are currently implementing MAMII in Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Ogun states.
He said more than 32,000 women and 1,700 newborns had benefited from emergency obstetric and neonatal care.
He added that the National Emergency Medical Treatment and Ambulance Service (NEMSAS) had transported nearly 79,000 beneficiaries to appropriate care, with pregnant women accounting for about 60 per cent of those transported.
According to him, fourth-visit antenatal attendance in MAMII LGAs increased by 20 per cent in one quarter.
Mr Salako said the new incentives are designed to reinforce behaviours that save lives, particularly early antenatal registration, facility-based delivery and postnatal follow-up.
Calls for stronger collaboration
Mrs Tinubu said the intervention represented another 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 improving maternal and newborn health requires deliberate interventions to address the challenges faced by women and families during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period.
The first lady called for stronger collaboration among government institutions, healthcare providers, development partners, communities and other stakeholders to ensure that interventions translate into measurable improvements in maternal and newborn survival.
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She said the incentives under MAMII would complement ongoing government efforts to improve access to quality maternal and newborn services, strengthen healthcare delivery and encourage greater utilisation of available services.
Mrs Tinubu also stressed the importance of maternal and neonatal mortality reduction as a national priority.
Mr Pate called on state governments and commissioners for health to sustain and expand the gains recorded under MAMII, noting that states are closer to communities and have a critical role in improving health outcomes.
He also emphasised the importance of maternal nutrition, including supplementation with multiple micronutrients.
The minister linked the intervention to the Community Food Bank Initiative, stressing that well-nourished mothers are critical to developing the human capital Nigeria needs for its future.
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