The Federal Government has commenced the distribution of maternal and neonatal health commodities to states as part of efforts to reduce preventable deaths among mothers and newborns.
The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Muyi Aina, said the intervention aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s agenda to improve maternal and child health outcomes.
“This initiative represents a continuation of the President’s agenda to save the lives of mothers and newborns, with the goal of reducing mortality in these vulnerable populations,” Aina said at the flag-off. “The Federal Government is making significant efforts, but of course, it is not possible to do everything at once.”
He explained that while the Federal Government is supporting with commodities, equipment, and training, service delivery remains primarily the responsibility of state and local governments.
“That is why I consistently call on our partners—the executive governors and their senior teams—to step up, build on what we are doing, and sustain the momentum,” he said. “This intervention, championed by the President and my Minister, Ali Pate, is meant to demonstrate how targeted efforts can fill gaps, save lives, and inspire states to adopt and scale such measures.”
According to him, 10 states were selected for the first phase of the program, based on areas with the highest burden of maternal and neonatal deaths.
Within those states, 80 local government areas out of 172 mapped across the country will be covered.
“These are the areas we are focusing on first, ensuring that wards and health facilities providing maternal and newborn care are equipped with essential commodities, trained health workers, and improved infrastructure,” Aina said.
He added that 21 out of 33 targeted states have already activated the program under the Maternal and Neonatal Initiative (MAMI) in collaboration with development partners.
On the cost of the intervention, Aina disclosed that the commodities being distributed are valued at about ₦2.9 billion. “Approximately 60 percent will go to the Northwest, and 34 percent to the Northeast, based on the distribution of the states in this phase,” he said.
The NPHCDA boss stressed the urgency of the initiative, noting that Nigeria’s maternal mortality ratio remains unacceptably high.
“Too many women die from preventable causes,” he said. “Whether the figure cited is 500 per 100,000 live births, or higher or lower, even 10 deaths are too many. This is why we are working with urgency, under the leadership of the President, to bring the numbers down.”
On sustainability, Aina said the Federal Government had secured commitments from states to contribute resources toward sustaining the program.
“Part of the reason why the rollout took some time was to ensure that commitment,” he said.
“States are expected to put resources on the table, particularly for commodities and service delivery. Through the partnership framework we are building—aligned with the compact signed by the President and governors—we believe sustainability will be achieved.”
