The Federal Government says it has recruited 19,758 skilled birth attendants across 22 states as part of efforts to tackle maternal and newborn deaths, reporting a 60 per cent decline in maternal mortality in communities covered by its intervention between 2024 and 2026.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja during the third Nigeria Health Sector Joint Annual Review.
Pate said the recruitment, alongside improved emergency referral services and investment in healthcare facilities, had contributed to better maternal health outcomes in the affected communities.
He disclosed that 78,054 frontline health workers had also been trained to strengthen healthcare delivery.
According to the minister, 91 per cent of Basic Health Care Provision Fund-supported facilities in MAMII communities now have at least two midwives or community health extension workers, compared with 12 per cent before the intervention.
He added that 99 per cent of the facilities had been connected to emergency referral systems, while 750,000 pregnant women had been identified and linked to functional healthcare facilities.
Pate further revealed that emergency transport services were operational in 171 of the initiative’s 172 local government areas, facilitating the transportation of 104,566 women and newborns.
He said more than 300 secondary healthcare facilities had been re-equipped to provide comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care, while over 500 primary healthcare centres had received equipment for basic emergency services.
On the free emergency obstetric care programme, the minister said nearly 100,000 services had been provided within two years, including 80,906 caesarean sections and 6,059 vesicovaginal fistula repairs.
He added that participating facilities recorded a 22 per cent reduction in deaths resulting from obstetric emergencies.
The minister also disclosed that skilled deliveries at facilities supported by the Basic Health Care Provision Fund increased from 4.8 million in 2023 to 7.9 million by the second quarter of 2026.
Antenatal care visits also rose from six million to 8.7 million within the same period.
Despite the progress, Pate acknowledged that maternal and newborn mortality remained a major challenge in Nigeria, calling for sustained investment in healthcare workers, emergency response systems and medical infrastructure.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, said the Federal Government planned to expand MAMII to all 774 local government areas to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes nationwide.
