The Federal Government has started giving out free Maternal and Neonatal Health (MNH) items worth N2.9 billion across Nigeria. This is to help improve the health of mothers and babies.
At the launch event in Abuja on Monday, Dr. Muyi Aina, who leads the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said the goal is to stop deaths that can be prevented.
Dr. Aina said this effort shows the government’s promise to give women and children better access to quality healthcare and reduce deaths among mothers.
He explained that the health items will help make a big difference in Primary Health Care centres, starting with ten states where mother and child deaths are the highest.
“This project supports President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to protect the lives of women and children,” Aina said.
He added that the project will help fix major problems in healthcare and urged states to continue and grow the programme in their local health systems.
Aina said the programme will first focus on 80 Local Government Areas with the highest risk to mothers’ health. All items will be given to mothers and babies for free.
The items are being shared by region: 60% goes to the Northwest, 34% to the Northeast, and the rest to North Central and Southeast.
He also said the plan includes improving Primary Health Care centres, fixing buildings, and training health workers, along with giving out health items.
Dr. Dayo Adeyanju, who leads the Maternal and Newborn Mortality Reduction programme (MAMII), said this effort will make PHC services stronger and help stop preventable deaths.
He pointed out that the campaign shows how important maternal and newborn health is and encourages teamwork between all levels of government and development partners.
He praised the government’s efforts and asked state governments to invest in maternal health and include MNH in their yearly health plans.
“Too many women die from causes that can be prevented. Even one preventable death is too many,” Adeyanju said.
He said the distribution is a clear sign that the government is serious about reducing deaths of mothers and babies across Nigeria.
Dr. Mary Brantwo from the World Health Organisation (WHO) said WHO will continue to support Nigeria’s health system and will now track maternal health data every year to check progress.
Other partners like UNICEF, UNFPA, and the Gates Foundation also promised to keep supporting Nigeria and praised the government for working to improve maternal health.
The items being given out include delivery kits, pregnancy drugs, vitamins, mosquito nets, family planning items, and important medicines for mothers and newborns.
