The Federal Government has reported a 60 per cent reduction in maternal deaths across communities covered by its Maternal and Newborn Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative, known as MAMII, between 2024 and 2026. The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, announced the figure on Tuesday in Abuja during the third Nigeria Health Sector Joint Annual Review.
Reforms Driving the Decline
Pate linked the reported decline to stronger access to skilled birth attendants, emergency referral services and maternal healthcare facilities under the initiative. According to the minister, the government recruited 19,758 skilled birth attendants across 22 states and trained 78,054 frontline health workers to improve service delivery.
The minister also reported a major shift in staffing at supported facilities. He said 91 per cent of Basic Health Care Provision Fund-supported facilities in MAMII areas now have at least two midwives or community health extension workers, compared with 12 per cent at the start of the intervention. In addition, 99 per cent of these facilities were connected to emergency referral systems, while 750,000 pregnant women were mapped and linked to functional health facilities.
“Within MAMII areas, BHCPF facilities have also recorded a reduction of approximately 60 per cent in maternal case fatality between 2024 and 2026,” Pate said.
Emergency Transport and Facility Upgrades
Emergency transport services were operating in 171 of the initiative’s 172 local government areas, according to the minister, and had transported 104,566 women and newborns. The government also re-equipped more than 300 secondary healthcare facilities for comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care, alongside over 500 primary healthcare centres for basic emergency obstetric and newborn care.
On the free emergency obstetric care programme, Pate said nearly 100,000 services were delivered in two years. These included 80,906 caesarean sections, approximately 9,100 newborn services and 6,059 vesicovaginal fistula repairs. He added that deaths from obstetric emergencies fell by 22 per cent in participating facilities.
Rising Skilled Deliveries and Antenatal Visits
The minister reported that skilled deliveries at BHCPF-supported facilities rose from 4.8 million in 2023 to 7.9 million by the end of the second quarter of 2026. Fourth antenatal care visits also increased from six million to 8.7 million over the same period.
Despite the gains, Pate acknowledged that Nigeria still faces significant maternal and newborn health challenges. He stressed the need to sustain investments in healthcare workers, emergency referrals and functional health facilities.
Primary Healthcare and Insurance Expansion
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, said the government had upgraded more than 3,000 primary healthcare centres to Level Two readiness and expanded health insurance coverage by almost eight million additional Nigerians.
Earlier, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Daju Kachollom, identified persistent health workforce shortages and poor maternal and child health indicators among the challenges requiring urgent attention.
The three-day review, themed “Together to Higher Grounds,” brings together federal and state health officials, development partners and other stakeholders. Participants are assessing the implementation of Nigeria’s Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative and identifying priorities for improving healthcare delivery.
