The Centre for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI) has intensified community emergency transport planning across Kaduna State to improve access to skilled maternal healthcare and reduce preventable maternal and newborn deaths.
The initiative, implemented through the Faith and Cultural Champions (FCC) Project in partnership with the Ummulkhairi Foundation, seeks to address transportation barriers that often delay pregnant women from reaching emergency healthcare services.
The programme brings together traditional leaders, transport operators, healthcare workers, and community volunteers to develop practical emergency transportation arrangements for pregnant women.
Speaking during a sensitisation programme in Panbeguwa, Kubau Local Government Area on Saturday, the General Manager of Ummulkhairi Foundation, Maryam Yahaya, said the intervention would strengthen local emergency response mechanisms.
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Yahaya noted that delays in reaching healthcare facilities remain a major contributor to preventable maternal and newborn deaths, especially in rural communities with limited access to reliable transportation.
She said the programme engages community leaders, transport union officials, and other stakeholders to establish sustainable community-based emergency transport arrangements for pregnant women facing childbirth complications.
“In many communities, women face serious risks because there are no immediate transport arrangements during labour or pregnancy-related emergencies.
“We are encouraging transport workers and community members to respond quickly whenever they are called upon to take pregnant women to health facilities,” she said.
According to her, the initiative forms part of broader maternal health interventions under the FCC Project aimed at improving birth preparedness, referrals, antenatal care attendance, and safe delivery outcomes.
The project is being implemented in Kubau, Zaria, Lere, Chikun, and Kagarko Local Government Areas, where communities are being mobilised to support maternal healthcare and emergency referrals.
FCC Project Consultant, Abubakar Ibrahim, said the initiative seeks to strengthen community ownership of maternal health interventions through active participation by transport workers and grassroots stakeholders.
He explained that delays in reaching health facilities are one of the three major factors contributing to preventable maternal and newborn deaths, particularly in underserved rural areas.
Ibrahim added that transport union members are being encouraged to identify motorcycles, tricycles, taxis, and other vehicles that can be mobilised quickly during labour and pregnancy-related emergencies.
