FG intensifies health investments to reduce maternal, child deaths – NPHCDA

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The Federal Government is scaling up coordinated efforts to drastically reduce maternal, newborn, and child mortality.

The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Muyi Aina, who stated this on Tuesday during a quarterly media briefing in Abuja, noted that the renewed push aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to prioritise investments in maternal and child health.

The 2025 Nigeria Health Statistics Report, released by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, revealed that Nigeria recorded an estimated 20,811 maternal, neonatal, and under-five deaths between January and September 2025.

Responding to concerns about the country’s maternal and child mortality statistics, Aina acknowledged that the numbers remain unacceptably high but stressed that the administration is committed to reversing the trend.

He said, “President Bola Tinubu has prioritised more investment in maternal and child health, and this will help to reduce maternal and child mortality.

“Ongoing initiatives, including direct funding to primary healthcare facilities, improved availability of essential commodities, and recruitment of more community health workers, are all strategically designed to target the leading causes of maternal, newborn, and child deaths.”

He explained that community health workers are now being deployed to identify pregnant women at home and link them to healthcare centres, ensuring timely access to skilled care.

“Everything we are doing is geared towards the top causes of maternal death and the top causes of newborn and child deaths, and to reduce the deaths,” he said.

He added that the agency is expanding beyond commodity-based interventions to include broader non-commodity approaches aimed at strengthening primary healthcare delivery nationwide.

The Director of Community Health Services, Dr. Nana Abubakar, highlighted that the Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative, launched in 2024 by the Federal Government, is a core strategy for addressing the key barriers that keep women and babies at risk.

According to her, the initiative is designed in line with the FG’s sector-wide approach, national health priorities, and the Sustainable Development Goals to address these challenges.

“This has been implemented in a coordinated manner to improve maternal, newborn, and child health services and reduce deaths across 172 Local Government Areas to start with.

“These LGAs are in 33 states, and they account for more than 50 per cent of the maternal deaths that we’re currently witnessing.

“MAMII’s interventions are comprehensive and multifaceted. They are designed to address the delays that account for maternal and newborn deaths in the country,” she stated.

She explained that governance and accountability for the initiative are anchored by the NPHCDA, the National Health Insurance Authority, the National Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance Services, and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, working jointly with development and service-delivery partners.

She emphasised that, “For MAMII, working together with every stakeholder is very essential so that no woman dies while giving birth, and no child should be lost to preventable causes.”

The PUNCH journalist, Lara, has over 10 years experience covering health, environment and CSOs

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