By Johnbosco Agbakwuru & Chidinma Chukwu
ABUJA — THE First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on Monday, launched the distribution of incentives to pregnant women, especially those in vulnerable and underserved communities, to promote the increased use of antenatal care and other essential maternal and newborn health services
The intervention, under the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Initiative (MAMII), is aimed at removing the social, economic, cultural and logistical barriers that keep women from accessing care during pregnancy and childbirth
Speaking at the national flag-off ceremony held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the President wife said the initiative was part of efforts to ensure that Nigerian women received quality care during pregnancy and childbirth, while newborns had a healthy start to life
The incentives include, mama kits and bags, maternal food support packs and sets of essential newborn clothing
According to the First Lady: “MAMII is a bold national intervention that unites key stakeholders to reduce the burden of maternal and newborn deaths by strengthening awareness, emergency care and referral systems, making safe childbirth and newborn survival the standard for every Nigerian family
“As a mother, I believe pregnancy and childbirth should be moments of hope and joy, with every woman having access to quality care However, social, economic, cultural, and logistical barriers still exist.This is what makes this intervention of particular significance.
“The incentive package we launched today includes a second batch of 215,000 mama kits and bags, following the initial distribution of 110,000 kits, as well as 40,000 maternal food support packs and 40,000 sets of essential newborn clothing”
Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who commended the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate, added that the ministry would extend the distribution of the food support packs and newborn clothing to more locations identified as having low utilisation of maternal health services.
According to her, the incentives were intended to encourage women, especially those from less privileged backgrounds, to attend antenatal clinics, prepare adequately for childbirth and continue accessing essential care after delivery
Senator Tinubu said the provision of newborn clothing reflected the administration’s commitment to ensuring that every Nigerian child was welcomed with dignity, warmth and care, while the maternal food support recognised the importance of adequate nutrition to the health of mothers, successful pregnancies, safe deliveries and healthy newborns
She called on state and local governments, traditional and religious leaders, development partners, philanthropists and other stakeholders to support the initiative and help ensure that the incentives reached women in vulnerable and underserved communities
“I encourage state and local governments, traditional and religious leaders, development partners, philanthropists, and other stakeholders to support this effort by ensuring incentives reach women in vulnerable and underserved communities and by increasing utilisation of maternal and newborn health services”, she added
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate, said maternal mortality remained a major challenge in Nigeria, stressing the need for concerted efforts to address the problem.
“Pregnancy is not a disease, yet many mothers lose their lives So addressing it through a concerted effort gave birth to MAMII, which is trying to connect the dots on the supply side, on the primary healthcare system, the supply of human resources, commodities, procedures, all of the supply-side efforts, as well as the demand side in terms of the affordability of those services,” Pate said.
He said the initiative had demonstrated the government’s commitment to the health and wellbeing of women and children, adding that the next phase would focus on intensifying and accelerating interventions while communicating the results achieved
According to him, the incentives were designed to encourage women to participate actively in antenatal care and opt for skilled birth attendance as part of efforts to reduce maternal deaths
Pate said Nigeria was making progress in maternal and newborn health but stressed the need to sustain the gains
He urged state governments and commissioners of health to complement Federal Government interventions by expanding efforts to address challenges affecting women and children at the grassroots
“States need to expand on these efforts They are closer to the realities, and there are resources from the proceeds of the agro-fiscal reforms of the President that can be channeled towards the issues that affect our people greatly,” Pate said.
On his part, the Minister of State for Health Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, noted that the 2023–2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) revealed that about one in 19 women in Nigeria faces the risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes, underscoring the urgent need for interventions aimed at reducing maternal and newborn deaths
He stressed that the situation requires concerted action to ensure that women, particularly those in vulnerable communities, have timely access to essential maternal healthcare services
Dr Salako also emphasised the need to promote and encourage early antenatal care, while addressing the social and economic barriers that may prevent women from accessing health services.
He called on families, communities and relevant stakeholders to play their part in ensuring that pregnant women receive the necessary support and care throughout pregnancy and childbirth